Summary
With a huge fictional movie universe such as theMCU, it would be easy to think that each film turns out to be a hit. That’s not quite the case. Pre-Endgame, noMCUmovie failed to cover its budget (and bring in extra money), some of them weren’t nearly as profitable as the audience could assume.
And this doesn’t happen only with older MCU movies but also the newer ones. Interestingly enough, a movie’s box office gross doesn’t always reflect its overall quality. Sometimes it’s just a question of bad circumstances. Whatever the cause, theleast profitable MCU moviesare stillpopular among many fanswho like to return to them to this day.
Updated on May 27, 2025, by Jake Fillery:With the impending fate of the MCU residing on the talent that carries The Avengers: Doomsday (2026), it’s time to look back at the MCU’s ups and downs with some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s biggest flops and lowest-grossing movies, including its most recent entries to see if The Avengers have what it takes to beat their greatest villain: superhero fatigue.
By far the lowest gross of an MCU movie, and the most recent,The Marvelsfailed to find an audience, and begs the question of whether or not the MCU is on its last legs. Despite the premise of the filmfeaturing Carol Danvers, Mala Khan, and Monica Rambeauteaming up to save the universe with their powers, the movie just didn’t impress at the box office, and definitely did not make back its budget, potentially providing the MCU with its first actual flop.
This could be thanks to superhero fatigue or fans' lack of interest in this trio of characters. The MCU has been struggling as of late to find its fanbase, as most of their most iconic characters have since been retired or killed afterAvengers: Endgame. Considering the MCU’s lowest gross just so happens to be years after their very best withAvengers: Endgame, it might have Marvel Studios worried, as it holds the title of the lowest-grossing Marvel movie.
The Incredible Hulkis the one MCU movie many people forget actually belongs to the cinematic universe. If it wasn’t for the presence of General Ross and a brief cameo from Tony Stark in the post-credit scene, it might have as well been a completely separate movie.
One of the reasons is that Edward Norton played Bruce Banner in the movie and Mark Ruffalo only later took on the role of Hulk forAvengers(2012). The movie cost an estimated $150 million and made only slightly more, which explains why there hasn’t been another Hulk solo movie ever since.
No matter what Marvel fans think about Steve Rogers and his often no-nonsense character, the MCU wouldn’t be what it is without Captain America. Yet, box office considered, Captain America’s first solo adventure also seems to be the weakest one.
Perhaps it’s because it once again has very little connection to the present world as about 99 percent of it takes place during World War Two. It does help to provide the background of Steve Rogers, though, and it costs even less to make than other MCU movies, only $140 million.
Black Widow’s box office gross is the ultimate proof that sometimes movies come at a bad time. Had it premiered a few years back, before the pandemic and Captain Marvel’s release, it’s likely it would have been much more profitable. However, the movie’s release was badly timed. Some fans also felt that Natasha Romanoff deserved her solo movie much earlier, not after her death in the MCU.
Finally, Black Widow isn’t even technically Natasha’s solo movie as it gives a considerable amount of space toYelena Belova who replaced Natasha in the MCU. All of these aspects influenced the fact that the movie made only $379 million with a $200 million budget, in part due to its release on Disney Plus and fans' lack of desire to get back to the movies straight away.
TheEternalsdid not break the established MCU records or reach the $1 billion threshold that many previous MCU movies crossed, even if it was one of their boldest movies from Chloe Zhao, and featured a new direction for the franchise sinceAvengers: Endgame.
Once again, it’s probable the timing of its release negatively influenced the success of the movie. Another reason forEternalsnot hitting even the half-a-million mark could be that the general audience doesn’t know the heroes very well, unlike Spider-Man or other well-established characters.
Captain America: Brave New Worldis the fourth installment of the franchise, in which Chris Evans retires from Steve Rogers to hand the shield down to Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson. A new Captain America must battle new threats as the world is introduced to Adamantium and a nefarious plot to bring about the rage of the U.S. President as the Red Hulk.
Captain America: Brave New Worldisn’t a downright financial flop, but it’s one of the lowest-rated MCU movies. While it avoids the cosmic side of the MCU and the Multiverse, it doesn’t reach the political thriller heights of previous entries. Though it’s a fun ride, the total box office proves that a movie can’t ride to huge success based on characters alone.
2021 wasn’t a good year for the MCU moviesprofit-wise. At least untilSpider-Man: No Way Homecame along and changed things. Shang-Chi got positive reviews from the many people who saw it, but a lot of the viewers were scared to go into cinemas because of the pandemic.
Unlike Spider-Man, Shang-Chi’s lower box office gross can be also explained by the fact that Shang-Chi isn’t as well-known, and he usually plays a supportingpart in the comics.
The firstThorsolo movie is close to a Shakespearean drama, albeit one set in a fantasy world. It primarily focuses on the conflict between Thor, Loki, and their father Odin as well as Loki’s attempt to get control over Asgard. The movie dipped a toe into the cosmic, and the confusing appearance of bleached eyebrows Chris Hemsworth.
The movie’s still captivating to this day thanks to the excellent acting performances, but it doesn’t feel as connected to the rest of the MCU universe as it once was. Its $150 million budget earned a solid profit but other Thor movies did better at the box office.
After the box office results of the two previousAnt-Man(and Wasp) movies, probably nobody expected that the third installment would earn as much as the most profitable MCU movies. ButAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniasurprised even the most skeptical viewers - and not in a good way. The movie cost 200 million dollars to make and earned just $476 million, still enough to pay itself but not much more.
As for the cause of its lack of financial success, either the fans are getting tired of Ant-Man or the movie’s story failed to captivate them as much as other MCU movies… which, considering the MCU’s overall quality, doesn’t necessarily makeQuantumaniaa bad movie, but the reliance on CGI anda lackluster overarching MCU villainlike Kang just wasn’t enough to fill seats.
With only a $130 million budget, Ant-Man was profiled from the start as a smaller, more down-to-earth MCU movie. His box office gross fits the description. While the movie managed to entertain the audiences and introduced a very sympathetic hero, Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang, the story’s stakes were pretty low in comparison to other movies,yet it still works even for a re-watch.
Then again, not every MCU movie has to focus on saving the entire world or even the universe. Ant-Man would go on to play a more prominent part in the MCU because it was thanks to him that the Avengers were able to travel in time and reverse the snap.
