“Thunderbolts” partial movie poster.
Marvel Thunderbolts* is reportedly going to end its theatrical run in the red, making the film the latest big financial disappointment for its studio, Disney.
Thunderbolts* — aka The New Avengers — is the second of three Marvel Cinematic Universe releases for Disney this year. Captain America: Brave New World opened in theaters on Feb. 14, while The Fantastic Four: First Steps will open on the big screen on July 25.
Starring Florence Pugh, David Harbor, Sebastian Stan, Hannah John-Kamen and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Thunderbolts* — which follows a group of misfit antiheroes akin to DC’s The Suicide Squad — snapped up $76 million in opening weekend May 2-4 to kick off the 2025 summer movie season.
However, ticket sales waned from there. To date, Box Office Mojo reported, Thunderbolts* has earned $187.3 million domestically and nearly $190.6 million internationally for a worldwide tally of nearly $378 million.
While a $378 million global gross would be welcome by most film releases, the amount falls in the lower tier of films released in the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe of movies, which kicked off in 2008 with Iron Man.
Worse yet, the domestic gross of Thunderbolts* as of Thursday is in the bottom 25% of all 36 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at No. 29, per Box Office Mojo.
Just ahead of Thunderbolts* and its $187.3 million domestic take on MCU list is Captain America: Brave New World, which earned $200.5 million during its North American theatrical run to currently hold the No. 28 spot.
David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh and Wyatt Russell in Thunderbolts
How Much Will ‘Thunderbolts*’ Need To Make To Break Even?
In a report published by Variety on Thursday, the industry trade publication broke down the financials for Thunderbolts*, noting that the film had a production budget of $180 million and a marketing budget of close to $100 million.
Numbers-wise, a global gross of $378 million against a film that cost $280 million to make and market outwardly gives the appearance Thunderbolts* will be a profitable title. However, since half of any given film’s ticket sales go to theater owners — plus, studios have other expenses including the payout of residuals — the financial picture for Thunderbolts* isn’t so rosy.
According to Variety, Thunderbolts* will have to make $425 million in theaters globally just to break even, which means the studio stands to lose millions of dollars once all of the numbers connected to the film’s theatrical release are tallied.
Sure, Disney still has time to make up a little more ground since Thunderbolts* is still in 1,955 theaters domestically as of Thursday, but not nearly enough to make the film whole considering the film finished at No. 10 at the June 6-8 box office with a domestic gross of $2.4 million.
Even if Thunderbolts* manages to eke out $385 million to $390 million in global ticket sales before the final curtain closes, it stands to lose — using Variety’s break-even estimate fo $425 million — anywhere from $35 million to $40 million.
Lucky for the studio, Thunderbolts* will have access to more revenue streams once the film heads to the home entertainment through digital streaming purchases and rentals, streaming service and TV earnings, and physical media (4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray discs) sales. Only time will tell, however, if those earnings will help Thunderbolts* zap the negative figures from Disney’s ledgers.
If there’s any saving grace, at least Thunderbolts* isn’t near to being the box office disasater that was Disney’s Snow White, which ended its run in theaters last week after opening on the big screen on March 21.
Thunderbolts* is still playing in theaters.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2025/06/12/marvels-thunderbolts-will-lose-millions-at-box-office-report-says/