https://screenrant.com/thunderbolts-box-off...may-comparison/


The box office numbers for Thunderbolts* have sadly been disappointing not only for Marvel but for fans of the movie, marking the end of a prosperous era for Marvel Studios. Thunderbolts* may have doubled its production budget in recent weekends, but it seems unlikely that the MCU's latest movie will achieve much more in the realm of box office beyond this. This is certainly a sour reality, given that many, myself included, regard Thunderbolts* as one of the best-ranked Marvel movies in recent memory.

Despite this, and the film's cruciality to the upcoming story of Avengers: Doomsday, Thunderbolts* has been unable to cross the significant box office milestones that Marvel Studios will undoubtedly have been hoping for. The future of the MCU's box office beyond Thunderbolts* still looks promising, but the disappointing returns of this movie are not only frustrating due to its quality, but due to how they mark the end of a very long era for the franchise. When looking at a specific box office trend that has persevered for over 13 years, Thunderbolts* has proven to be the end of the road.

Since 2012 and the release of The Avengers, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has dominated the box office returns of the early summer months. The success of 2012's The Avengers 13 years ago allowed Marvel Studios to make it a tradition to release an almost assured box office hit of a movie in either late April or early May. Iron Man 3's release on May 3, 2013, was the first after The Avengers, with Thunderbolts* being the most recent, though not necessarily every year since then has been covered. Regardless, Marvel had the early summer months locked down.

As proven, this early summer period has been incredibly lucrative for Marvel Studios since 2012. Of these 10 movies, six of them have earned over $1 billion, with two of those going the extra step and hauling in a worldwide total above $2 billion. Three of the other four have earned over $800 million, coming close to the $1 billion milestone. The lowest-grossing Marvel movie from the late April/early May period - discounting Thunderbolts* - is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, with a highly respectable worldwide haul of $845 million.

Sadly, given the film's success with critics and audiences, Thunderbolts* marks the abrupt end of this era for Marvel Studios. Thunderbolts* was released on May 2, 2025, with Marvel Studios undoubtedly hoping the movie would capitalize on the usual success that MCU movies of years gone by have achieved by releasing in this slot. However, Thunderbolts*' box office total stands at $369 million worldwide as it nears the end of its theatrical run, the third-lowest in the franchise, despite being released in a typical hot spot for big superhero movies from Marvel.

This marks the end of the illustrious early summer period for Marvel, begging the question of why Thunderbolts* was the movie to break this trend. As I have already alluded to, Thunderbolts* was an excellent movie. Many would agree with me when I say it is one of the strongest MCU movies in recent years, as further evidenced by its 88% and 93% approval ratings on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and audiences respectively. That said, quality alone was not enough to propel Thunderbolts* to commercial success, for a variety of reasons.