Thunderbolts: Marvel’s Next Box Office Disaster?

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According to recent reports, the box office performance of Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts movie continues to struggle, potentially causing further issues for Kevin Feige and his team, as its projected earnings are similar to those of Marvel’s previous flop, The Eternals.

It’s also being reported that the earnings for Thunderbolts at the box office are projected to be less than Captain America: Brave New World, the latest film from Feige that has been underperforming following the poor performance of The Marvels.

It seems that “Thunderbolts” is shaping up to be a sequel primarily focusing on Florence Pugh’s character from “Black Widow,” with Julia Louis-Dreyfus also involved, which appears to be another box office success for Feige. However, some are questioning this decision, as they feel that Feige hasn’t learned from past experiences, given that the majority of the promotional efforts have been centered around Pugh’s Yelena. This comes after “The Marvels” underperformed at the box office, with fewer girls attending and primarily fanboys showing up. Given that “The Marvels” became the lowest-grossing MCU film to date, it seems surprising that Feige would continue in this direction, especially considering the ongoing DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) funding. This raises the question: Is Feige attempting to capitalize on the DEI money with this decision?

What is the latest Thunderbolts tracking?

Needle hasn’t moved

Through the trades, the newest Thunderbolts are projected to have a domestic box office opening of between $70 million and $75 million at 4,300 theaters. If this projection holds true, it would place the film as having the second lowest opening for an MCU film, trailing behind The Marvels ($46.1M).

Essentially, the figure hasn’t changed significantly since a few weeks back, suggesting that our marketing efforts haven’t had much impact in driving growth. However, other sources predict an initial box office revenue of approximately $85 million.

Presales are in the gutter

It appears that the pre-sales for Thunderbolts are estimated to be roughly $12 million, much like 2021’s Eternals, which debuted with a relatively modest $71.2 million. Notably, these pre-sales are lagging behind this year’s Captain America: Brave New World, which underperformed with an opening of $88.8 million domestically and $414.8 million globally.

The film titled “Thunderbolts” is yet another high-budget Marvel Cinematic Universe production, with costs exceeding $180 million and additional expenses for marketing. To merely cover these costs, it requires generating substantial revenue.

Faces stiff competition

Another possible issue is that Ryan Coogler’s movie “Sinners” has been successful, and Warner Bros. has arranged special screenings for “Minecraft,” which might reduce the earnings of “Thunderbolts” at the box office.

Needs good word-of-mouth

A strong possibility for the success of Thunderbolts, if it’s a good film, is through positive word-of-mouth. Just like how Minecraft had poor initial sales but gained massive popularity due to viral fan videos, sparking a wildfire of word-of-mouth marketing. Unfortunately, I don’t think the same will happen for Thunderbolts. Similarly, word-of-mouth was instrumental in keeping Sinners‘ box office drop minimal (4.8%) during its second weekend.

Rotten Tomatoes dropping

The score for the movie “Thunderbolts” on Rotten Tomatoes is decreasing slightly yet remains impressive, standing at 88% based on 110 reviews. Initially boosted by some enthusiastic reviewers, “Thunderbolts” set a high bar in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with its Rotten Tomatoes score, but it has since returned to more realistic levels.

On Thursday, I’ll catch the screening and promptly share my opinions and impressions on our Facebook page. To tell you the truth, I’m quite eager for it, something that hasn’t been the case for a single MCU film in years. For your information, I found “Captain America: Brave New World” to be at least entertaining.

Release info

Thunderbolts opens Thursday with previews and officially on Friday. Jake Schreier directs.

Featuring in the cast are Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer, Wendell Pierce, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Plot description

Marvel Studios brings together an unusual band of anti-heroes – Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes (also known as the Winter Soldier), Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster, and John Walker. They are unwillingly drawn into a deadly trap laid by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, which compels them to embark on a perilous journey that will make them delve deep into their troubled pasts. Will this fractured unit disintegrate under the strain, or can they find salvation and transform into something greater before time runs out?

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2025-04-30 06:01