Kicks off the moviegoing summer with a global gross of $162 million for Thunderbolts.
Revved-Up Recap: Marvel's Thunderbolts Kicks Off Summer Season
Marvel's latest cinematic adventure, Thunderbolts, stormed worldwide theaters, raking in a weekend revenue of US$162 million. The blockbuster serves as a promising commencement to Hollywood's summer movie season, essential for the industry’s annual earnings.
Thunderbolts, a tale of an unconventional band of heroes banding together to take down a supervillain, racked up US$76 million of its overall earnings in North America and Canada, according to Disney.
Although the returns matches the predictions of experts, they fell short of Captain America: Brave New World's US$88.8 million North American opening in February. Box office analyst Jeff Bock, Senior Analyst at Exhibitor Relations Co., praised Thunderbolts as a decent debut for a movie featuring lesser-known characters who have had supporting roles in previous Marvel titles.
Starring Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan, Thunderbolts amplifies anticipation for the upcoming Fantastic Four and the next Avengers: Doomsday. Bock described Thunderbolts as “a prelude to something much bigger.”
The film had a sluggish debut in China, yet global figures were generally positive, states Bock, surpassing the dismal 2024 summer start with The Fall Guy. Hollywood garners about 40% of its annual revenue during the summer season, which runs from the first weekend in May to Labor Day in September.
Tickets sales in the US and Canada are currently 15% above 2024's but still 31.8% below 2019's records, which boasted the game-changing Avengers: Endgame.
Critics and audiences adored Thunderbolts, deeming it the best-reviewed Marvel Cinematic Universe film since Spider-Man: No Way Home, according to Andrew Cripps, head of global theatrical distribution at Disney. Rotten Tomatoes endorsed the flick with 88% positive reviews from critics and an astonishing 94% approval rating from viewers.
Sinners claimed the second spot on the North American charts, collecting US$33 million in its seventh weekend, raising its total to US$179.7 million. A Minecraft Movie rounded out the top three with US$13.7 million, pushing its North American earnings to US$398.2 million.
Upcoming summer releases include sequels such as Jurassic World: Rebirth and Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning along with the new Superman movie, potentially posing a formidable challenge for Thunderbolts' box office dominance.
- Importantly, Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan's Marvel movie, Thunderbolts, has sparked increased interest for the upcoming Fantastic Four and the next Avengers: Doomsday, setting the stage for further entertainment spectacles.
- In the realm of movies-and-tv, Thunderbolts, despite a slower start in China, has managed to gather generally positive global figures, potentially minting yet another profitable movie for the industry's summer season.
- Box office analyst Jeff Bock, praising Thunderbolts as a decent intro for lesser-known characters, believes the film is a prelude to something much bigger, similar to the anticipation-building buzz surroundings the 2021 Marvel title, Spider-Man: No Way Home.
