Are people running out to see Florence Pugh do a death-defying stunt in the newest Marvel movie? Kind of, but they’ll probably be running in the coming weeks as the positive reviews for Thunderbolts* continue to come in. Word of mouth is the best way to hype people up. It’s a fun take on Marvel 2.0 (3.0? It’s hard to keep track of all the tiers and eras) and a welcome relief from whatever else Marvel released recently. Maybe it’s the A24 of it all. For its opening weekend, Thunderbolts* is estimated to earn somewhere between $70-75 million — it’ll top the box office, but how does it compare to the legacy of MCU films before it?
How is the Thunderbolts* stacking up against other Marvel movies?
It’s predicted to fall in between, on the higher end, Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018, $75 million) and Shang-Chi (2021, $75 million), and on the lower end, shortly ahead of Thor (2011, $65 million) for its opening weekend. So it’ll be towards the bottom of the MCU box office rankings but it’s not to say another group of ragtag goofballs can make a comeback. The most recent heavy hitter for the Marvel B.O. is 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine with $211 million, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever at the $180 million range.
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What about A24 flicks?
Well, it blows the A24 fishies out of the water. The highest-earning A24 movie is Everything Everywhere All at Once, with an overall domestic gross of $77,191,785— so the Thunderbolts* is gonna be beating that next week. But will it sweep the Oscars? Unfortunately, it’s a little too early for the Stunt Design category, but maybe a future sequel can take that on.
