Overview

• Thunderbolts* was made for $180 million with nearly $100 million in marketing and earned about $378 million globally, leaving it roughly $47 million shy of breaking even.
• Its $187 million domestic take and month-long box office presence rank it among the lowest-grossing MCU films.
• Only six of 13 MCU releases since 2020 have surpassed $500 million worldwide, prompting analysts to say the era of guaranteed billion-dollar blockbusters is ending.
• Despite an 88% critic score and 93% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, strong word of mouth did not sustain ticket sales.
• Marvel plans to concentrate on fewer films anchored by marquee characters while exploring tighter budgets for less prominent projects to protect future returns.