Marvel's "Thunderbolts" succeeds in eliciting excitement among fans, generating $76 million in box office revenue during its initial release weekend
Flick-tastic Summer Ahead with Marvel's "Thunderbolts" Kicking Things Off
It's a blockbuster bonanza as Marvel's "Thunderbolts" stormed the box office this weekend with a whopping $76 million in domestic sales. Though not enough to match Marvel movies' past record-breaking opening weekends, it managed to surpass expectations by around 8% and sets the tone for a new era in the Marvel universe, according to Paul Dergarabedian, a senior analyst at Comscore.
With "Fantastic Four" and other Marvel movies on the horizon, particularly "Avengers: Doomsday" a year from now, Marvel seems to be opening the gates for a Marvel magic revival, Paul told CNN.
Disney's initial Marvel offering of the year, "Captain America: Brave New World," earned approximately $88.5 million domestically during the President's Day weekend's first three days.
Marvel often acts as a lucky charm for the summer movie season, which accounts for almost 40% of the full-year box office revenue, as per Comscore data. In 2024, there was no Marvel film released in May, leading to a sluggish start to the summer and record-low box office numbers on Memorial Day weekend.
However, this is not among the biggest superhero launches we've seen in superhero movie history, according to David A. Gross, who publishes FranchiseRe, a newsletter on the box office. Yet, it's still a "very good opening," he noted, with new superhero movies typically averaging about $55 million when debuting, which is 41% less compared to 2015-2019 averages.
Meanwhile, Disney also pulled off another impressive showing with the re-release of "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," pushing Warner Bros. Pictures and Amazon MGM Studios' "The Accountant 2" for the No. 2 spot last weekend.
The popularity of the "Star Wars" film, which comes as studios grapple with rethinking their film release strategies, is largely attributed to lackluster theatrical re-releases in the past decade, according to Shawn Robbins, director of movie analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory. He added that this is one of the most popular prequels and has had two decades to become nostalgic for younger fans who missed it first time around.
Warner Bros. has boosted the box office with the continued success of "Sinners" and "A Minecraft Movie," which secured the No. 1 spot in their opening weekends. "Sinners" has now grossed $179 million domestically, and "A Minecraft Movie" has grossed $398 million domestically, as per Comscore data.
Summer box office big-hitters will be dominated by sequels, remakes, and family entertainment. Top contenders include horror sequel "28 Years Later," Marvel's antihero team-up film "Thunderbolts," Disney’s live-action remake of "Lilo & Stitch," and animated sequel "The Bad Guys 2."
However, competition will be stiff with only a handful of new releases next weekend, so "Sinners," "A Minecraft Movie," and "Thunderbolts" will continue to vie for box office dominance. They'll hold their ground until Memorial Day weekend, when Disney's live-action "Lilo & Stitch" and Paramount Pictures' "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" hit theaters.
Overall, dergarabedian told CNN, "We're going to have one of the biggest, if not the biggest, Memorial weekends ever, so this sets up that very nicely with 'Thunderbolts.'"
[^]: Data on "Sinners" and "A Minecraft Movie" not readily available for comparison or analysis.
- Marvel's "Thunderbolts" kicked off a promising summer in the entertainment industry, domestically amassing $76 million in its opening weekend.
- Reportedly, superhero movie openings typically average around $55 million, making "Thunderbolts" a "very good opening" according to David A. Gross, with the average being 41% less compared to 2015-2019 averages.
- Dergarabedian, a senior analyst at Comscore, stated that the summer movie season, which comprises almost 40% of the full-year box office revenue, often benefits substantially from Marvel productions.
