Marvel’s “Thunderbolts*” opened over the weekend at $76 million at the domestic box office — a pinch lower than debuts of the Marvel heyday, but a promising start to summer ticket sales.
“Thunderbolts*” was the highest-performing movie over the weekend, de-throning “Sinners” after two weekends at the top and pushing “The Minecraft Movie” into third place, per Box Office Mojo.
An opening of $76 million is on the weaker side for Marvel debuts, but in light of growing superhero fatigue among movie goers, ticket sales for “Thunderbolts*” forecasts potential for a Marvel revival.
“Marvel set the bar so high for so many years that a $76 million opening may seem to some like it should have done $100 million or something like that,” said Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst for Comscore, per The Guardian.
He continued, “This is a great reset. They’re hitting the reset with ‘Thunderbolts*.’ The great reviews and the word of mouth should hold it (in) good stead.”
“Thunderbolts*,” follows a group of lesser-known misfit superheroes, but boasts a star-studded cast including Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Laurence Fishburne and Sebastian Stan.
It performed similarly to previous Marvel films about more obscure superheroes, such as “Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings” ($75 million debut) and “Eternals” ($71 million debut).
With an earning of more than $162 million in global ticket sales, per Box Office Mojo, “Thunderbolts*” is on track to rake in similar numbers to Marvel’s first film of the year, “Captain America: Brave New World” — which took home nearly $415 million globally and $200 million in domestic sales, per Box Office Mojo.
The biggest leg up “Thunderbolts*” has on recent Marvel releases is good reviews. “Captain America: Brave New World” was largely panned by critics, as was 2024’s “Madame Web.”
But “Thunderbolts*” boasts an 88% critics rating and 94% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The latest superhero movie is “so much better than most of Marvel’s post-Endgame films,” per the BBC and “definitely a step in the right direction for the MCU,” per IndieWire.
Still, Marvel has a lot left to prove with upcoming flick, “The Fantastic Four.” One decent story likely won’t be enough to earn back the trust of audiences, but “Thunderbolts*” sets Marvel up for renewed enthusiasm.
“Between this, ‘Fantastic Four’ and then the other Marvel movies coming down the pipeline — particularly a year from now with ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ — Marvel’s set up for a real renaissance to get that Marvel magic going,” Dergarabedian told CNN.
Box Office success to continue through Memorial Day
Memorial Day weekend typically sets the standard for summer box office sales, and the successful opening for “Thunderbolts*” is the start of an impressive holiday box office, experts say.
“May is shaping up to be one of the best on record,” Dergarabedian told Variety. “More importantly, this summer’s movie season, coming in the wake of the pandemic and strikes, will generate both massive buzz and impressive box office.”
Last year’s Memorial Day kicked off summer with lousy box office sales — followed by slow ticket sales up until “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” hit theaters leading into Thanksgiving.
But Memorial Day weekend 2025 is forecasted to bring the perfect storm for mega ticket sales. Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” and Paramount‘s “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning" are both anticipated to keep the box office revival rolling in wake of the boom sparked by “The Minecraft Movie.”
“(‘The Minecraft Movie’ is) a real hit in the center of the bullseye,” Warner Bros. global distribution chief Jeff Goldstein told Variety. “This is something the industry needed like air.”
Goldstein added, “It‘s no question that one movie can change the trajectory of the marketplace.”