The Marvels | Where does The Marvels rank in terms of box office figures after its opening weekend?

Things aren’t looking good for the good ship Marvel Cinematic Universe after this weekend’s box office numbers for the 33rd MCU title, ‘The Marvels,’ starring Brie Larson. Perhaps there is still blowback against Larson for the press she undertook for ‘Captain Marvel’ in 2019 leading to her platforming more diversity when it comes to casting and the comic book realm, or perhaps it’s just that we’re sick and tired of formulaic Superhero movies - but financially, it’s not been a great weekend for the franchise.

Initial projections for the film over the weekend in the United States had ‘The Marvels’ estimated to make between $70 to $80 million USD, but after its opening weekend, the film made only $47 million at the box office. There were early concerns about the film last week when the initial projection shrank from $70 to $80 million down to $60 to $65 million, but even then the estimates pale in comparison to the actual figures.

Internationally the film has fared no better either, with Variety claiming that the movie made only $110 million in its opening weekend, with the film hoping to make $140 million internationally. Only two other movies MCU movies have opened to less than $60 million in their opening weekend - ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania’ earlier this year and 2008’s ‘The Incredible Hulk.’ Both ended up pulling in triple figures at the end of their run.

What is interesting to note however is that ‘The Marvels’ is considered a bigger flop than ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania’ which wasn’t labelled a bust until the end of its box office run. ‘The Marvels’ is one of those rare MCU movies to flop out of the gate, with analysts suggesting a lack of promotion from the cast due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes combined with what Variety calls “bad buzz” surrounding the movie, leaving Marvel Studios picking up the pieces and pondering what next for Phase 5, which seemingly has not gone according to Kevin Feige’s plans. 

But is ‘The Marvels’ the worst MCU opening of all time, and in contrast what has been the best weekend box office for the MCU since it launched with the release of ‘Iron Man’ back in 2008?

What is the highest-grossing opening weekend for an MCU film?

That feat belongs to ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ which according to Box Office Mojo is said to have taken $357 million USD internationally on its opening weekend back in April 2019. That is closely followed by ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ which earned $257 million USD internationally on its opening weekend.

What is the lowest-grossing opening weekend for an MCU film?

Unfortunately, that now belongs to ‘The Marvels’ with its $47 million USD opening internationally. Before then, the ‘record’ was held by “The Incredible Hulk” (2008) with a mere $55.4 million USD at the box office during its opening weekend.

What are the lowest weekend box offices in the MCU?

1. The Marvels (2023) — $47 million
2. The Incredible Hulk (2008) — $55.4 million
3. Ant-Man (2015) — $57.2 million
4. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) — $65.1 million
5. Thor (2011) — $65.7 million
6. The Eternals (2021) — $71.3 million

Figures taken from IMDB, Comscore and Box Office Mojo