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Thunderbolts*, Marvel’s risky new superhero flick starring heroes from the Black Widow universe, got great reviews across the board — but nobody went to see it.
The Big Picture: Since 2008, Marvel has built the highest-grossing film franchise of all time and ridden that wave for decades. But audiences may have finally lost enthusiasm for superhero mashups, and Marvel’s pivot to quality over quantity hasn’t paid off.
Behind the (Empty) Seats: In the six weeks since its release, Thunderbolts* has brought in just $371 million globally — one of the worst performances throughout the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- The decline in Marvel’s popularity has been a long time coming. Before COVID, the vast majority of Marvel films grossed over half a billion dollars each. Post-pandemic, though, less than half of them have.
- Before this, Marvel could at least chalk up their box office flops — like the last Captain America and Ant-Man films — to bad reviews. Thunderbolts* paints a more troubling picture.
- Supplanting Marvel films are animated kids’ IP like A Minecraft Movie and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which boast great brand recognition and less cultural saturation.
Post-Credits Sequence: It seems like people are both sick of the old superheroes and uninterested in seeing new ones. If Marvel’s pivot to fewer, better, and slower superhero movies isn’t working, it’s possible that global audiences may have just had enough of the genre.
Prediction: The biggest blockbusters of the future may target younger audiences and have even more overlap with video games. Hello, live-action Fortnite (just kidding — this isn’t real. But it might be soon).
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