With 22 movies under its belt to date, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the most complex, beloved franchise to exist in film, and the box office receipts for each movie certainly reflect that. Over the past 11 years, MCU fans have come in droves to theaters across the globe to see every new installment in the ongoing MCU saga.
Beginning with Avengers: Endgame, thus ending the storylines of earlier core superheroes while setting other superheroes on new paths. The future of the MCU is wide-open, but one thing is for certain: success at the box office is all but guaranteed regardless of the film based on the final totals for previous films.
Before we can plow on into MCU Phase 4, it's worth looking at the highest-grossing MCU films to date using worldwide box office totals to see if we can get any sense of how the MCU films will fare in theaters.
22. The Incredible Hulk ($263,427,551)
Until Mark Ruffalo took over the role of the Hulk in 2012's The Avengers, Hulk struggled to take root in the MCU. Fans may forget that Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, and William Hurt as General Thunderbolt Ross - released the same year as Iron Man let alone is considered a part of the MCU. It seems the dark, psychologically-driven take on Marvel's version of the classic Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde story wasn't enough to earn audiences' approval, because it only earned a worldwide box office total of $263,427,551.
21. Captain America: The First Avenger ($370,569,774)
Chris Evans had established himself as a charming, rogue sort in Hollywood by the time he stepped into Steve Rogers' shoes for Red Skull and his Nazi crew in World War II was appealing enough to turn the film into box office gold. The first Captain America film earned a shocking (by MCU standards) $370,569,774 by the time it left theaters.
20. Thor ($449,326,618)
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Thor's first film in his solo trilogy may have counted heavy-hitters amongst its cast and crew - Kenneth Branagh directed and the cast included Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, and Natalie Portman - and featured Marvel's spin on familiar Nordic gods, but it wasn't enough to get audiences in seats. Thor exited theaters worldwide with $449,326,618 in its pockets. Regardless of how later movies fared, that's still an impressive amount for Marvel's first cosmic installment.
19. Ant-Man ($519,311,965)
At the time it was announced, Ant-Man arguably felt like the least obvious choice for the next superhero whose story would be brought into the MCU. Despite a truly winning performance from Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, an ex-con trying to go on the straight-and-narrow whose ends up stealing one of the most powerful suits from former S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist Hank Pym, Ant-Man pulled in less than $520 million worldwide, which was considerably less than its predecessors by this point in the MCU's first saga.
18. Iron Man ($585,174,222)
The film that started it all surprisingly ranks pretty low on the MCU totem pole. Iron Man only managed to pull in a little over $585 million when it debuted in theaters worldwide in 2008. It's possible future MCU fans didn't know what would grow from Iron Man when it was first released and, despite Robert Downey Jr.'s incredibly compelling first round as Tony Stark, hesitated to flock to theaters the way they eventually would for future MCU films. But with that film marking the first entry in the MCU, it's certainly pretty high, especially for 2008.
17. Ant-Man and the Wasp ($622,674,139)
Considering how essential the Quantum Realm would end up being in the MCU and followed Scott Lang on another light, thrilling MCU adventure, it's surprising it didn't do better at the box office. Perhaps MCU fans were willing to risk not seeing it considering Endgame was premiering only a few months later and thought it would answer all their questions? Whatever the reason, the Ant-Man sequel pulled in a respectable but still somewhat low $622,674,139 worldwide considering it was the first movie to release post-Infinity War.
16. Iron Man 2 ($623,933,331)
Iron Man 2 may have been Tony Stark's sophomore outing in his solo trilogy, but it ended up with one of the worst box office receipts of any MCU film. The worldwide box office take for Iron Man 2 ended up just shy of $640 million. It's a shame Iron Man 2 didn't get more love from audiences especially since it delivered up double the Iron Men - this film marks Rhodey's first appearance as War Machine - and features Mickey Rourke as the very menacing villain Ivan Vanko, a.k.a. Whiplash.
15. Thor: The Dark World ($644,571,402)
It may have had critically tepid reviews but Thor: The Dark World did really well as the box office when it came out in 2013. The continuation of Thor's solo story as he tried to save his girlfriend, Jane, from the harmful effects of the Aether (a.k.a. the Reality Stone) and battle genocidal Dark Elves was enough to get folks in theaters, resulting in a worldwide gross of more than $644 million.
14. Doctor Strange ($677,718,395)
The very trippy, surreal, and thrilling Doctor Strange 2.
13. Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($714,264,267)
It may have one of the more middling box office grosses in the MCU, but Captain America: The Winter Soldier had a respectable final take of close to $715 million worldwide while it was in theaters. Winter Soldier introduced us to the new and improved Bucky Barnes while taking the Captain America story into the present day. It's no wonder fans flocked to the theater to see how Cap's story would evolve and how he would break through his best friend's HYDRA brainwashing in order to get him back to normal.
