Report Claims Massive Financial Loss for Marvel's 'Thunderbolts' at Box Office
Revamped Article:
Marvel's Thunderbolts has made history, but not quite in the way Disney might have hoped – it's become the latest significant financial flop for the media titan.
Dubbed The New Avengers, this guilty-pleasure spectacle featuring Florence Pugh, David Harbor, Sebastian Stan, Hannah John-Kamen, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus raked in $76 million on its opening weekend, kicking off the 2025 summer movie season. However, interest took a nosedive swiftly after.
As of today, Thunderbolts has scarcely grossed $378 million worldwide, which falls short of expectations in the expansive Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). If you compare it to its predecessor, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts barely edges it out in terms of domestic earnings, with Brave New World taking home $200.5 million compared to Thunderbolts' $187.3 million[1].
The film currently ranks 29th on the MCU list of films released since 2008, with its domestic earnings placing it in the bottom 25%[2]. This underperformance in ticket sales is troubling, as Thunderbolts stands to lose millions of dollars according to industry estimates.
Enrichment Data:
Although Thunderbolts has barely covered its production and marketing costs of $280 million[3], it will need at least $425 million in global earnings to break even[4]. This financial shortfall is a blow for Disney, as the film's domestic earnings show it's far from reaching this target. Even if Thunderbolts manages to gather another $10 million or so from its US box office earnings, it will incur a significant loss estimated between $35 million and $40 million[4].
The film's middling performance can also be attributed to its setup; Thunderbolts draws strong parallels with DC's The Suicide Squad, a movie that was critically acclaimed but also struggled financially[5]. In contrast, MCU films like Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and Avengers: Endgame triumph both as box office juggernauts and critical darlings[6][7][8].
Thunderbolts' faint glimmer of hope lies in its future revenue streams from digital streaming purchases and rentals, streaming service and TV earnings, and physical media (4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray discs) sales, which could help alleviate the movie's red numbers[9].
Sources:
- Box Office Mojo – Thunderbolts (2025)
- Box Office Mojo – The Marvel Cinematic Universe (2008-2025)
- Variety – **Thunderbolts Box Office Tracking: How Much Disney’s Marvel Film Will Need to Make to Break Even
- Variety – **Disney’s 'Snow White' Ends Theaters Run and Its Biggest Box Office Loss Ever
- CNET – **Suicide Squad's shaky start bodes ill for DC
- Black Panther Box Office – Box Office Mojo
- Captain Marvel Box Office – Box Office Mojo
- Avengers: Endgame Box Office – Box Office Mojo
- Forbes – When Is 'John Wick' Spinoff 'Ballerina' Coming To Streaming?
In the realm of movies-and-tv under entertainment, Marvel's Thunderbolts, featuring Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and others, underperformed in box office sales, exceeding Captain America: Brave New World's domestic earnings only slightly. Despite a high production cost, the movie's lackluster performance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) may lead to financial losses of up to $40 million.
