After overtaking the lifetime domestic haul ofJared Leto’s horribly-received superhero filmMorbiusin its opening weekend of release alone, Marvel’sThunderboltshas surpassed it globally as well.Thunderboltswas released theatrically this past weekend, drawing a healthy $74 million in its domestic debut. This put the movie aboveMorbius' lifetime domestic haul. It has now also passed the poorly received Spider-Man spin-off at the global box office. Directed byDaniel Espinosa,Morbiusdebuted in 2022, and received poor reviews upon release. It became fodder for memes, and remains one of the most despised superhero films ever made.
The movie made $162 million worldwide, against a reported production budget of $80 million.Thunderbolts*reportedly cost over $100 million more, but, unlikeMorbius, earned positive reviews from critics and audiences. The movie holds a “fresh” 88%Rotten Tomatoesscore, as compared toMorbius' dismal 15%.The movie initiated the spiral for Sony’s ambitious Spider-Man Universe, which also includes three successfulVenomfilms, but more problematically,Madame WebandKraven the Hunter. Combined, the latter two films weren’t able to crack the $150 million mark worldwide. Their reception wasn’t any better than that ofMorbius.
The franchise has since concluded, with only the three Venom movies emerging as commercially successful. Concurrently, there has been talk about the superhero genre having run out of steam (and the audience’s goodwill). More recently, Marvel’sCaptain America: Brave New Worldwas perceived to have underperformed at the box office, with just over $400 million worldwide againsta reported budget of $180 million.Thunderbolts*, which serves as a follow-up toBlack Widow, has earned mostly positive reviews, and willsoon become one of the 100 highest-grossing superhero movies of all time.
‘Thunderbolts*’ Is Poised to Become One of the 100 Biggest Superhero Movies Ever
All it needs to do is overtake the ill-fatedThe Fantastic Fourreboot from a decade ago; the one directed byJosh Trank. Incidentally,Thunderboltsleads into yet another reboot of the popular superhero franchise, Marvel’sThe Fantastic Four: First Steps. Directed byMatt Shakman,First Stepsitself will lead into next year’s hugely-anticipatedAvengers: Doomsday, which will include characters fromThunderbolts. StarringFlorence Pugh,Lewis Pullman,David Harbour,Olga Kurylenko,Sebastian Stan,Geraldine ViswanathanandJulia Louis-Dreyfus,Thunderbolts*will pass the $200 million mark this weekend. The movie was recently revealed to have an alternate title:The New Avengers, which sets up further plot lines in the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe. You can watch the movie in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Thunderbolts*
