Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* has been experiencing a tremendous streak of success since it first launched. On paper, the film looked like a fun adventure designed to bridge the gap between two bigger, more high-profile films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Captain America: Brave New World and The Fantastic Four: First Steps) but it ultimately ended up eclipsing the former in terms of critical response.
The positive response to the film has led to many exclaiming that "Marvel is so back" and understandably so, for Thunderbolts* has received praise for its entertainment value, thoughtful representation of the importance of mental health, and fun character dynamics that drew comparisons to the early days of the MCU (particularly 2012's The Avengers). This led to the film slightly overperforming expectations in its opening weekend.
Now, it has done the same again in its second week.
Thunderbolts* holds strong with an impressive Week 2 at the box office
Thunderbolts* held onto a lot of its earlier success in its second week at the box office - something that has become increasingly hard for movies - both in general and the ones made by Marvel Studios - to do. The film earned $33.1 million domestically, marking just a 55% drop from opening weekend. As Variety points out, that's a far better hold than recent MCU installments, which have fallen significantly in their second weekend (this year's Captain America: Brave New World dropped 68% in its second weekend). This brings its total domestic gross thus far to $128.4 million.
Internationally, it added another $34 million, bringing its worldwide total to $272.2 million thus far. Not bad for a movie that had a $180 million budget and features lesser-known Marvel characters. Of course, it still has to keep the momentum going to break even (especially when you factor in the $100 million spent on marketing) but it's clear that there is fight in Thunderbolts*.
It also goes to show the power of positive word-of-mouth. The overwhelmingly positive response has ensured that the MCU movie has continued to defy expectations, opening on the higher end of estimates and earning itself a strong hold in its second weekend. That second weekend hold makes it the 13th best Week 2 drop for an MCU film, which - again - is very impressive for a Marvel movie post-pandemic. And even more impressive for a Marvel movie in Phase Five, which has seen the franchise struggle both commercially and critically more than any other phase.
Those aren't the only successes that Thunderbolts* has seen. The film earned $7.6 million domestically on Tuesday, marking a 48% jump from its Monday earnings. It now holds the unique honor of having the the best first Tuesday jump for an MCU movie ever.
This past week also saw it undergo an intentional rebrand at the hands of Marvel. The studio began remarketing it as The New Avengers all across social media, allowing the film to generate a lot more interest and intrigue in its second week. Based on the Tuesday jump and the solid second weekend, it has paid off.
Stars Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Lewis Pullman, David Harbour, Hanna John-Kamen, and Wyatt Russell will all reprise their roles in Avengers: Doomsday, which is released in theaters next year (and is currently in production).
Thunderbolts* is in theaters now.