Thunderbolts Bombed at the Box Office, But Fans Watched It ‘Free’ on Disney+

Despite a disappointing run in cinemas, Marvel’s *Thunderbolts* is now proving popular with viewers on Disney+, where it became available to stream on August 27th, according to recent data.

Disney+ Surge

Viewers watched *Thunderbolts* on Disney+ 105% more often in its first six days than they did when it was initially available for purchase or rental (PVOD), according to data from Samba TV.

This suggests many fans preferred to watch it on Disney+ with their existing subscription-essentially for free-rather than paying to see it in theaters or renting it. It also indicates that viewers weren’t eager to see the movie right away.

Marvel movies used to be events everyone rushed to see, but recent films from Kevin Feige, after *Endgame*, haven’t been as popular with audiences.

Nielsen reported the movie was viewed for a total of 702 million minutes, making it the ninth most-watched title overall and the third most popular movie.

Box Office Struggle

Theatrical numbers show just how weak the movie’s run was compared to typical Marvel releases:

  • Domestic: $190,274,328 (49.8%)
  • International: $192,162,589 (50.2%)
  • Worldwide: $382,436,917

Similar to Captain America

When it premiered on Disney+, *Captain America: Brave New World* quickly became the most popular movie, racking up an impressive 750 million minutes of viewing time.

Like many other films, *Brave New World* didn’t perform well in theaters, earning only $415.1 million at the box office. This suggests many people chose to watch it through other means instead of buying tickets.

What’s next?

It’ll be worth watching how *The Fantastic Four: First Steps* does on Disney+ (probably releasing in November). While the movie didn’t do great in theaters, it still earned $520 million, which was more than *Captain America 4* and *Thunderbolts*.

If *Fantastic Four* does really well, it suggests people are preferring to watch Marvel movies on Disney+ without extra cost, rather than going to cinemas or renting them.

And again, it’s also a sign the Marvel brand isn’t what it used to be.

Read More

2025-09-26 18:31