Latest Thunderbolts* Box Office Projections Are Just What Marvel Needed

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The upcoming movie titled “Thunderbolts*” is showing promising strength at the box office. As reported by Deadline, the second weekend of its release in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is expected to generate around $35 million domestically. This anticipated figure would allow “Thunderbolts*” to retain its position as the top-grossing film, and more importantly, it’s only dropping by 53% from its opening weekend. This is an exceptional hold for any MCU film; Deadline states that a 53% decrease would place it among the top eight best holds in the entire franchise (which encompasses 36 films thus far). By the end of the weekend, “Thunderbolts*” is projected to surpass $130 million at the U.S. box office.

This weekend’s remaining top five spots appear to be controlled by existing films. In second place, we have the movie “Sinners,” earning approximately $22 million. The Minecraft film takes third with around $8.8 million, followed closely by “The Accountant 2” in fourth with about $6.1 million. Rounding out the top five is the new release, “Clown in a Cornfield,” which brought in roughly $3.9 million domestically.

Kicking off in early May, the highly anticipated movie Thunderbolts* was generally expected to have a modest debut (compared to Marvel’s usual launches). As predicted, during its initial weekend, it earned $74.3 million domestically. Interestingly, the opening weekend for Thunderbolts* fell short of Captain America: Brave New World‘s three-day haul from mid-February ($88.8 million). However, due to its overwhelmingly positive reception, there’s optimism that it will maintain strong audience interest.

Brave New World faced a mix of positive and negative feedback, which ultimately affected its long-term earnings potential at the box office. It experienced one of the most significant second weekend drops among Marvel Cinematic Universe films (68.3%), causing it to slide in popularity. Ultimately, Brave New World concluded as one of the least profitable MCU productions, joining other recent entries in the Multiverse Saga that failed to meet expectations both critically and financially.

After the cast announcement for “Avengers: Doomsday,” the upcoming movie “Thunderbolts” became more crucial to the overall narrative of the Multiverse Saga. Many stars from the original film are returning in next year’s “Doomsday,” and the post-credits scene suggests that the characters from “Thunderbolts” will play a significant role. Given this, it was essential for “Thunderbolts” to be well-received by audiences, as a less popular movie could have posed another challenge for “Doomsday.” Although “Thunderbolts” might not end up among the MCU’s top-grossing films, its strong box office performance is encouraging. It demonstrates that when Marvel produces a beloved film, people will continue to support it. The relatively weaker opening of “Thunderbolts” may be due more to feelings towards the larger MCU rather than an evaluation of the movie itself.

The strength of Thunderbolts was crucial for maintaining its grip during its second weekend, as stiff competition is approaching in the form of Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, both opening over Memorial Day weekend. These movies are expected to deliver a powerful one-two punch at the box office, potentially breaking records during the holiday period. Therefore, Thunderbolts needed to capitalize on the less competitive market while it had the chance. It looks set for another strong weekend next week before the major releases arrive, providing Marvel with the comeback it required to kickstart the summer season.

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2025-05-10 21:21