Summary
- Not all MCU films have done exceptionally well at the box office, but that does not mean that they are bad.
- Some low-grossing MCU films like Eternals and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania have lessons for Marvel to learn from for future movies.
- Iron Man may not be a top-grossing MCU film, but it remains one of the franchise’s best due to its impact and quality.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has released 34 films since the first Iron Man, and even though some of them did not do amazing numbers at the box office, that does not mean they are bad. With a franchise as big and long-lasting as the MCU, there are bound to be films that connect with audiences on a huge level that others simply cannot. Some of the MCU’s best movies, like Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home, turned out to be box office giants.
However, not all MCU movies can finish their box office runs to the tune of $1 billion worldwide or more. There are many factors that contributed to the MCU’s lowest-grossing films being in the position they are in, be it story reasons, the time they were released, the focus on obscure characters, and more. Marvel can learn lessons from the MCU’s lowest-grossing films that can only improve future MCU movies.
Related 10 Best Marvel Movie Trilogies Ranked
With Deadpool & Wolverine concluding one of the best Marvel trilogies, the list includes some impressive live-action entries both in the MCU and not.
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10 The Incredible Hulk
$264.7 Million
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The Incredible Hulk
The second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is The Incredible Hulk, which was released in 2008. The film introduced a new backstory for the Hulk to differentiate it from the 2003 movie, Hulk. Actor Edward Norton played the role of the green hulk, and his alter ego Bruce Banner. He is joined by actress Liv Tyler who plays his love interest, Dr. Elizabeth “Betty” Ross. Betty’s father, General Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt), is hoping to recreate a World War II supersoldier program and, in the process, exposes Bruce to gamma radiation that transforms him into the Hulk. He flees to find a cure for himself but is eventually tracked down by Thunderbolt, who forms an alliance with Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth). After The Incredible Hulk, Mark Ruffalo took over the character for subsequent movies in the MCU.
Director Louis Leterrier Release Date June 13, 2008 Cast Edward Norton , Liv Tyler , Tim Roth , William Hurt , Tim Blake Nelson , Ty Burrell , Lou Ferrigno Runtime 112 minutes
The Incredible Hulk sits at the bottom of the list for a few factors. Not only was it the lowest-grossing MCU movie from its release in 2008 up until late 2023, but the MCU film is like a distant look into the franchise and quite a simple film overall. Edward Norton was great as Bruce Banner, leaning into the character’s traumatic response to becoming the Hulk and how that affects his life.
Over the years, the MCU started bringing back
The Incredible Hulk
characters, with 2025’s
Captain America: Brave New World
including multiple.
However, that was not enough to make The Incredible Hulk succeed. Betty Ross ended up feeling rather bland in the film; the movie’s CGI was not nearly as good as it should have been, which is a pretty big flaw when the Hulk and Abomination are a huge part of it, and the story was boring. In the end, The Incredible Hulk is a rather dull affair that should have been way more exciting, given its lead hero.
Related The Incredible Hulk Was Marvel’s Biggest Disappointment
Marvel has a reputation for being surefooted and confident, but 2008’s The Incredible Hulk has to go down as their biggest disappointment to date.
9 Eternals
$402 Million
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Eternals is the 25th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is part of its fourth phase. Over 500 years ago, when the ten Eternals complete the task given to them by the Celestial Arishem to wipe out the invasive alien species known as Deviants that roam the earth, the group decides to go their separate ways as they find themselves at odds with how to continue their interactions with humanity as they grow and learn. Blending into society, the Eternals continue to live their lives in the modern day until the Deviants emerge again. When one of the Eternals is supposedly slain by a deviant, events are set in motion that will reunite them once again to discover why the Deviants have returned and what the true intentions of the Celestial have been for all these millennia.
Director Chloé Zhao Release Date November 5, 2021 Cast Angelina Jolie , Gemma Chan , Richard Madden , Salma Hayek , Kit Harington , Kumail Nanjiani , Lia McHugh , Brian Tyree Henry Runtime 157 minutes
Before it was released in theaters, there was a lot of buzz surrounding Marvel Studios’ Eternals. The movie was directed by Chloé Zhao, who won the Best Director Oscar for Nomadland months before Eternals premiered. Due to that, there was a lot of talk about Eternals being a candidate for several awards in the lead-up to its premiere, and with an all-star cast that included names like Angelina Jolie and Richard Madden, it seemed to be on the way to becoming a major success.
However, Eternals ended up flopping. Sure, it was still affected by the pandemic, but the movie itself was just not as exciting as it seemed to be. There were a lot of characters introduced all at once, and that led to Eternals not having the time to properly flesh out all of them and make fans care. The movie’s main villain was also an ugly CGI creation that looked dull, and despite great visuals everywhere else, Eternals ended up being a convoluted misfire.
Related 10 Unanswered MCU Questions At Risk Of Never Being Addressed After Kevin Feige’s Eternals 2 Comments
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8 Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania
$476 Million
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Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a sequel to 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp and is part of the ever-growing Marvel Cinematic Universe. Jonathan Majors returns as a variant of He Who Remains from the Loki TV Series named Kang the Conqueror. In addition to returning cast members Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, and Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathryn Newton makes her MCU debut as Cassandra “Cassie” Lang, Scott’s daughter. When Cassie activates a signal to the Quantum Realm, she, Hope, Janet Van Dyne, Hank Pym, and Scott are pulled into the dimension, embarking on a chaotic journey the likes of which the Marvel Universe has never seen.
Director Peyton Reed Release Date February 17, 2023 Cast Michael Douglas , Jonathan Majors , Paul Rudd , Michelle Pfeiffer , Michael Pena , Evangeline Lilly , Kathryn Newton , Randall Park , Bill Murray Runtime 135 minutes
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘s poor box office was quite shocking. The Ant-Man franchise was never one to pull in huge numbers, but the third film in Scott Lang’s MCU saga was designed to be the hero’s biggest, with ramifications for the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. The film saw the debut of Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror, the villain who was then set to be the main threat the Avengers would face in two movies before Majors was fired by Marvel Studios.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
ended up being the lowest-grossing Ant-Man movie.
Now that role will fall to Doctor Doom, making Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘s best aspect, Majors’ performance and story as Kang, mute. The film lost a lot of the Ant-Man franchise’s charm by taking place almost exclusively in the Quantum Realm, which led to characters like Luis getting cut and gags with Ant-Man and the Wasp’s shrinking powers in relation to the world disappearing. With poor CGI in a lot of moments, the Quantum Realm also looked less exciting than it should have, and Kang was defeated too easily.
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Related The MCU Has 4 Perfect Ways To Kill Off The Council Of Kangs To Make Room For Doctor Doom
While Doctor Doom is the Multiverse Saga’s new main villain, the MCU could still use the Council of Kangs’ death to set up multiple stories.
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7 Thor
$449.3 Million
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Chris Hemsworth’s MCU debut as the Asgardian God of Thunder saw him navigating the ultimare sibling rivalry and parental expectations. Kenneth Branagh’s theatrical adaptation of the long-running Marvel Comics deals with Thor’s quest to prove himself worthy. Banished to Earth for his impulsiveness and tendency to violence, Thor must earn his destiny, while Tom Hiddleston’s Loki tries to destroy him.
Director Kenneth Branagh Release Date May 6, 2011 Cast Chris Hemsworth , Natalie Portman , Tom Hiddleston , Kat Dennings , Stellan Skarsgård , Idris Elba , Clark Gregg , Colm Feore Runtime 115 minutes
2011’s Thor is not the best of Chris Hemsworth’s MCU movies, but it is also nowhere near the worst. The film is a serviceable origin story for Thor in the MCU that serves as a great starting point for the character. Thor establishes Asgard, which looks the best it ever does in the MCU, the franchise’s core characters, like Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, and Thor’s motivations nicely.
Banished to Earth, the film follows the God of Thunder as he finds his path back to being worthy of his hammer, Mjolnir, and his privileged position as Odin’s son. Thor‘s modest box office is a byproduct of the time the movie was released, and had it been developed later in the MCU than when the franchise was only finding its footing, director Kenneth Branagh would more likely than not have seen a hefty box office with Thor.
Related Thor’s 10 MCU Appearances Ranked
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6 Ant-Man
$519.3 Million
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Former S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) is alarmed when his protégé Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) announces his near success in replicating his shrinking technology. Representatives from HYDRA are looking to buy the suit that could cause massive destruction, and Hank must find a man who can successfully infiltrate a tightly guarded facility. After rigorous training with Pym and his daughter Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), including the manipulation of a technologically advanced suit, control of ants, and physical fighting skills, ex-convict Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is chosen to become the new Ant-Man. Together with Hank, Hope, and his friends Luis (Michael Peña) and Dave (Tip Harris), Scott must fight with Darren, who has perfected his version of the suit called the Yellowjacket. Ant-Man is the twelfth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and acts as the final addition to Phase 2.
Director Peyton Reed Release Date July 14, 2015 Cast Paul Rudd , Michael Douglas , Corey Stoll , Evangeline Lilly , Bobby Cannavale , Anthony Mackie Runtime 117 minutes
Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man franchise has two of the 10 lowest-grossing MCU movies. That is not necessarily indicative of the quality of the Ant-Man movies, but more so of the obscure nature of the character for non-comic book readers, as well as the Ant-Man films mostly standing on their own in the MCU. Given those elements, 2015’s Ant-Man, the hero’s MCU debut, was always going to reach smaller numbers than other bigger MCU heroes.
Ant-Man is a fun heist movie. It is a refreshing story in the MCU, mostly avoiding big end-of-the-world stakes for a more personal tale. The movie also leans more heavily into comedy than the other MCU films of the time it was released. Ant-Man is an entertaining film that does not offer much more than a good time, which is why it ranks in the middle of the list.
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Related Latest Ant-Man Update Means The MCU Can Never Redeem Its Wasted Founding Avenger
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5 Black Widow
$379.7 Million
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Black Widow
Black Widow is a film about Natasha Romanoff in her quests between the films Civil War and Infinity War. This is the 24th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the first solo film for Black Widow, one of the original six Avengers. The character previously appeared in seven MCU films, including all four Avengers movies. Black Widow was originally scheduled for May 2020 but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Director Cate Shortland Release Date July 9, 2021 Cast Scarlett Johansson , Florence Pugh , David Harbour , O-T Fagbenle , Olga Kurylenko , William Hurt , Ray Winstone , Rachel Weisz Runtime 134 minutes
Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow is one of the most important characters in the MCU. Fans asked for a Black Widow movie for many years, with the character only getting her chance to shine in a solo film after Natasha Romanoff had died in Avengers: Endgame. That led to Black Widow following a story set in the character’s past, delving deeper into Natasha’s backstory with the Red Room.
Black Widow
introduced fan-favorite characters like Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova and David Harbour’s Red Guardian, both of which return next year in
Thunderbolts*
.
Sadly, the pandemic and the decision to release Black Widow on the same day in theaters and Disney+ ended up hurting the movie’s box office. The film itself is quite fun, with a nice mix of levity and emotional moments. Black Widow introduced fan-favorite characters like Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova and David Harbour’s Red Guardian, both of which return next year in Thunderbolts*. All in all, Black Widow was a gripping adventure for Natasha, but it came too late.
Related Who Are Marvel’s Thunderbolts* & Where We Last Saw Each Member In The MCU
Thunderbolts* is set to assemble a new team with darker pasts seen in previous MCU movies, so here’s a breakdown of where we last saw each member.
4 Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings
$432.2 Million
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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the 26th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Simu Liu plays Shaun (Aka Shang-Chi), a valet living and working in San Francisco, along with his friend Katy (Awkwafina), when one day, his past comes knocking back at his door. To protect himself and Katy, Shaun reveals himself to be Shang-Chi and his lineage, with his father being the actual “Mandarin,” the leader of the Ten Rings criminal organization. His father is now reaching out to him, and his estranged sister and Shaun must head back to China to save his sister and figure out his father’s true motivations. Shang-Chi was one of the first films in the fourth phase of the MCU.
Director Destin Cretton Release Date September 3, 2021 Cast Awkwafina , Simu Liu , Tony Leung Chiu Wai Runtime 132 minutes
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was such a fun movie that it led to Marvel hiring director Destin Daniel Cretton to helm Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. However, he ended up departing the project, which has since become 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday. The movie introduced a whole new side of the MCU, with mystical elements, artifacts, organizations, and more. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings even had dragons.
Recently,
Simu Liu has confirmed that
Shang-Chi 2
is happening
.
The movie featured some of the best action sequences in the MCU, with Simu Liu delivering a charismatic and energetic performance in the lead role. Tony Leung also gave life to one of the shared universe’s best heroes as the MCU’s true Mandarin, paying off Iron Man 3‘s setup years later. Due to the pandemic, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings‘ box office was lower than it could have been.
Related Shang-Chi 2: Cast, Story & Everything We Know
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3 The Marvels
$206.1 Million
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The Marvels sees the long-awaited team-up of Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) as the trio work together to find out how their powers have become inextricably linked. Acting as a sequel to both Captain Marvel (2019) and the Ms. Marvel television show, The Marvels is the 33rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Director Nia DaCosta Release Date November 10, 2023 Cast Brie Larson , Zawe Ashton , Teyonah Parris , Iman Vellani , Samuel L. Jackson , Park Seo-joon , Zenobia Shroff , Mohan Kapur , Saagar Shaikh , Gary Lewis Runtime 105 Minutes
The Marvels being this high on the list should be a controversial decision, as the movie has become the lowest-grossing MCU film, taking The Incredible Hulk‘s place after 15 years. Despite its abysmal box office, which led to Marvel losing a lot of money on the Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels is not a bad movie. Sure, it does not rank among films like Captain America: The Winter Soldier or Avengers: Infinity War, but the movie was still an entertaining, fast-paced team-up that the MCU needed amid the Multiverse Saga.
With MCU characters going years without appearing or not really interacting with those from other franchises in recent years, The Marvels came as a breath of fresh air, bringing different MCU heroes together with solid reasoning and making their dynamic shine. However, a weak villain, years of polarizing discourse around Captain Marvel, and the MCU’s divisive state as of late hurt the film’s performance.
Related 10 Best MCU Sequels Ranked From The Marvels To Avengers: Endgame
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has some impressive franchises, and that has led to sequel movies that have changed the MCU in interesting ways.
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2 Captain America: The First Avenger
$370.5 Million
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Captain America: The First Avenger Where to Watch
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Captain America: The First Avenger is a 2011 superhero movie starring Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, a weak patriotic civilian who becomes the test subject for the military’s Super Soldier project. The film was the fifth film in the long-running MCU franchise and also starred Samuel L. Jackson, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, and Sebastian Stan.
Director Joe Johnston Release Date July 22, 2011 Cast Chris Evans , Hayley Atwell , Hugo Weaving , Sebastian Stan , Tommy Lee Jones , Samuel L. Jackson , Dominic Cooper , Stanley Tucci , Toby Jones Runtime 124 Minutes
Chris Evans’ Captain America trilogy stands as the MCU’s best for many. There is not a single bad movie about Evans’ Steve Rogers. Captain America: The First Avenger sits at the bottom of the franchise both box office-wise and in terms of reception, though that has nothing to do with the movie’s quality itself. Like a few entries on the list, the film was part of the first wave of MCU releases, and those found lower box office results.
With a solid story, gripping characters, and great rewatchability, Captain America: The First Avenger served as the perfect foundation for what would become one of the two most beloved heroes in the MCU. The film does a great job of telling Steve Rogers’ iconic origin story, making a character who could have been seen as corny by modern audiences a beacon of hope, which is what Captain America is all about.
Related I’ve Worked Out Chris Evans’ Best Possible MCU Return As Steve Rogers To End The Multiverse Saga
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1 Iron Man
$585.8 Million
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Iron Man is the first film in the long-running Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark, who becomes Iron Man after he is kidnapped and discovers terrorists are using weapons developed by Stark Industries. Gwyneth Paltrow stars as Tony’s love interest Pepper Potts alongside Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan and Jeff Bridges as the villainous Obadiah Stane.
Director Jon Favreau Release Date May 2, 2008 Cast Robert Downey Jr. , Jeff Bridges , Gwyneth Paltrow , Terrence Howard , Leslie Bibb , Shaun Toub , Clark Gregg , Paul Bettany Runtime 126 minutes
2008’s Iron Man is one of the MCU’s most important movies, if not the most important. It was due to the film’s success that the MCU continued to exist, eventually becoming the major theatrical behemoth it is today. Interestingly, Iron Man‘s $585.8 million at the worldwide box office, which was once an enormous success for Marvel at the time, is now one of the lowest-grossing films in the MCU.
That is but a testament to how the franchise has grown since 2008, with multiple $1 billion hits, one of which came from Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man 3. Of the MCU’s lowest-grossing movies, Iron Man is definitely the best. The reasons for that are that the film brings one of RDJ’s best performances as Tony Stark, does a great job of setting up a cinematic universe, has an engaging story, villain, and characters, and its CGI still holds up to this day. Iron Man is one of the MCU’s best movies, counting all 34 releases so far.
Upcoming MCU Movies
- Captain America: Brave New World
Release Date February 14, 2025
- Thunderbolts*
Release Date May 2, 2025
- The Fantastic Four (2025)
Release Date July 25, 2025
- Blade (2025)
Release Date November 7, 2025
- Avengers: Doomsday
Release Date May 1, 2026
- Avengers: Secret Wars
Release Date May 7, 2027