Thunderbolts* Nears $280 Million Box Office as Marvel’s The New Avengers Marketing Rumbles On – IGN

Thunderbolts* had a strong second weekend hold at the box office for an MCU movie, and has now reached $272.2 million globally.

The Florence Pugh-fronted action flick added $33.1 million domestically and $34 million internationally to top the box office charts for a second week running. That’s a -44% box office drop from the launch weekend, which is stronger than Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (-52%), Captain America: Brave New World (-54%), and Ant-Man and the Wasp; Quantumania (-54%). Thunderbolts* has so far grossed an estimated $128.5 million domestic and $143.7 million internationally.

Marvel’s Thunderbolts* marketing cranked into a higher gear last week, going as far as to officially change the name of the movie to New Avengers. Marvel even dragged the on-screen dispute between Sam Wilson’s Avengers and this new superhero team into the real world. Clearly, Marvel is hoping that interest in Thunderbolts* continues in the coming months as the studio heads into the crucial launch of Phase 6 kickstarter The Fantastic Four: First Steps in July.

According to Variety, Disney spent $180 million to make Thunderbolts* and another $100 million to market it. So Thunderbolts* needs to show staying power globally to turn a profit theatrically.

Last week, Disney boss Bob Iger bigged up Thunderbolts*, saying it’s “the first and best example” of Marvel’s new commitment to quality over quantity.

Thunderbolts* had topped the domestic box office with a $76 million opening, a start that was seen as solid rather than spectacular. For context, that was ahead of Eternals ($71 million) and Ant-Man and the Wasp ($75 million), which were both considered flops, but below most other MCU movies’ opening hauls.

However, Thunderbolts* is going down well with audiences and critics. IGN’s Thunderbolts* review returned a 7/10. We said: “Thunderbolts* has, like its sort-of-not-really antagonist, both a dark half and a light half. But only one of them is actually pretty great (hint: it’s the one that involves plumbing the depths of the characters’ worst memories).”

Disney will be hoping that positive word of mouth helps Thunderbolts* enjoy a better run in theaters than Captain America: Brave New World, which dropped off dramatically. Indeed, Marvel movies have endured a torrid time in recent years apart from the odd blip, such as the billion dollar Deadpool & Wolverine movie.

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