After three weeks in theaters, the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe release, Thunderbolts*, has now made twice The Marvels' box office in the United States. It stars Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Wyatt Russell, Lewis Pullman, Olga Kurylenko, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Featuring an ensemble cast of antiheroes and villains, the film deals with themes of mental health, self-worth, and finding a greater purpose.

The Marvels likewise featured three central leads: Brie Larson as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau/Photon, and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel. It simultaneously acted as a sequel to Captain Marvel, WandaVision, and Ms. Marvel. Though both The Marvels and Thunderbolts* received fresh critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes, their financial fates are less similar.

Per Box Office Mojo, the domestic gross of Thunderbolts* as of May 25, 2025, is $173.8 million, while that of The Marvels' entire run is $84.5 million. Alternatively, Thunderbolts* is sitting at $355.5 million globally, and The Marvels raked in $206.1 million globally. Interestingly, international box office sales made up 59% of The Marvels' gross but only 51.1% of Thunderbolts*' gross.

What Thunderbolts* Doubling The Marvels' Box Office Means

While Not A Billion Dollar Hit, Thunderbolts* Is Not A Flop

While Thunderbolts* isn't on track to have a showing as strong as Avengers: Endgame or even last year's Deadpool & Wolverine, it's past the trappings of the MCU's lowest earners. Aside from ing The Marvels both domestically and globally, the film currently outranks Captain America: Brave New World's week three domestic haul of $168 million. It's unlikely that the film will be a major financial success, but it has a shot at breaking even.

The break-even figure for Thunderbolts*, which has a reported budget of $180 million, would be around $450 million, as that number is typically determined by doubling the budget and adding roughly $100 million for marketing. Since the film has a global gross of $355.5 million and has been in theaters for less than a month, it has a shot at hitting the necessary threshold. However, that would require it to have long legs in theaters. As we head into the summer blockbuster season, it's uncertain whether Thunderbolts* will have the longevity to be profitable.

Our Take On Thunderbolts* Doubling The Marvels' Box Office

Word-Of-Mouth Helped Thunderbolts* Avoid The Marvels' Fate

Thunderbolts* may not reach the same level of financial success as its MCU predecessors; however, the positive response it has received from critics and fans has given it a slight boost. Even if that isn't enough to make the film a bonafide hit, this positivity could help repair Marvel's damaged reputation among moviegoers. Either way, Thunderbolts*—a movie about underdogs—has the potential to be an underdog financial success.

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  Thunderbolts*

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