Taking A Closer Look At The Worldwide And Domestic Totals For MCU Films - Ranked In Order Of Box Office

Taking A Closer Look At The Worldwide And Domestic Totals For MCU Films - Ranked In Order Of Box Office

Marvel Studios has delivered fantastic experiences to fans over the past decade and they have made a pretty penny doing so! Here's a breakdown of exactly how many pretty pennies they've made, and how.

Editorial Opinion
By LiteraryJoe - Feb 21, 2019 04:02 AM EST
Filed Under: Marvel Studios
Source: Time
This year is gearing up to be the most exciting yet for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as they have three big movies on their release schedule and they all look to be phenomenal hits for different reasons. 

Captain Marvel  releases in two weeks, which is the first female-led film from Marvel Studios. Meanwile, Spider-Man: Far From Home, the sequel to the second Tom Holland vehicle in the series, is launching this summer with the long-awaited debut of Mysterio, adding the talented Jake Gyllenhaal into the MCU. And, of course, in two months Avengers: Endgame arrives and will put an end to the first ten years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Looking ahead at this line-up, it's obvious that Marvel and Disney will be lining their pockets again in 2019 with three successful films on their hands. While it is true that Sony gets the profits from the Spidey movies, they are technically a part of the greater MCU, unlike Venom and Morbius (for now).

Beyond that, there will be no shortage of characters for Kevin Feige and Co. to cash in on while adapting them for the big screen, with titles like Black Widow, Eternals, Shang-Chi, Black Panther 2, Captain Marvel 2, Doctor Strange 2, Spider-Man 3 - not to mention the characters reclaimed in the FOX deal - on the horizon.

So, what is there to do when one can't look forward? Well, look back of course! Thanks to Time Magazine, we have the Box Office reports for all 20 MCU titles so far, detailing both Domestic and Worldwide numbers. 

20. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Worldwide: $263,427,551 / Domestic: $134,806,913

19.Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Worldwide: $370,569,774 / Domestic: 176,654,505

18.Thor (2010)
Worldwide: $449,326,618 / Domestic: $181,030,624

17.Ant-Man (2015)
Worldwide: $519,311,965 / Domestic: $180,202,163

16.Iron Man (2008)
Worldwide: $585,174,222 / Domestic: $318,412,101

As you can see above, the low end of this list consists entirely of origin stories, with Ant-Man being the only title to be released after The Avengers. It is a bit odd that both Iron Man and Ant-Man are neck and neck Worldwide while their earnings report a difference of over $230,000 Domestically. Do people overseas have more love for Ant-Man, or do people in America simply love Tony Stark? 

15.Ant-Man & The Wasp (2018)
Worldwide: $622,674,139 / Domestic: $216,648,740

14.Iron Man 2 (2010)
Worldwide: $623,933,331 / Domestic: $312,433,331

13.Thor 2 (2013)
Worldwide: $644,571,402 / Domestic: $206,362,140

12:Doctor Strange (2016)
Worldwide: $677,718,395 / Domestic: $232,641,920

11.Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Worldwide: $714,264,267 / Domestic: $259,766,572


Another very interesting case here. While Iron Man 2 earned the most noney Domestically by nearly six figures, it comes neck and neck Worldwide with - guess what - Ant-Man & the Wasp. In addition to that, it is much lower than the other movies' global totals, meaning those films have a greater appeal overseas.

10.Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)
Worldwide: $773,328,629 / Domestic: $333,176,6000
9.Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Worldwide: $853,977,126 / Domestic: $315,058,289

8.Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Worldwide: $863,756,051 / Domestic $389,813,103

7.Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Worldwide: $880,166,924 / Domestic $334,201,140

6.Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Worldwide: $1,153,304,495 / Domestic: $408,084,349


It is now clear that each of the Thor films do much better overseas than domestically. Also, the number six spot on this list is the first film on it to break a billion dollars, and that's Captain America: Civil War. Apparently, bringing Iron Man and Captain America together was well worth the effort.

5.Iron Man 3 (2013)
Worldwide: $1,214,811,252 / Domestic: $409,013,994

4.Black Panther (2018)
Worldwide: $1,346,913,161 / Domestic: $700,059,566

3.Age Of Ultron (2015)
Worldwide: $1,405,403,694 / Domestic: $459,005,868

2.Avengers (2012)
Worldwide: $1,518,812,988 / Domestic: $623,357,910

1.Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Worldwide: $2,048,359,754 / Domestic: $678,815,482


What other movie could be number one, but the only one to crack two billion dollars Worldwide: Avengers: Infinity War.  The question is, will Avengers: Endgame be able to dethrone it? 

It's also worth noting here that while Black Panther was only number four on this list, the film is number one when it comes to Domestic numbers, as it is the only MCU film that has been able to break $700,000,000 so far at the Domestic Box Office.


What's your take on these numbers? Does Iron Man simply get no love overseas because he's a weapons dealer and seen as a villain? Does Thor appeal more to people outside of the US for some reason? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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Dren
Dren - 2/21/2019, 4:43 AM
The Incredible Hulk was not that bad its problem was that the previous one was awful.

A lot of movies get better views on their sequels just because the previous one was good.

Black panther got a lot of views from people that thought it would be a prelude to Infinity war and got a lot of views from cinema subscriptions than were cancelled for Infinity war.
EskimoJ
EskimoJ - 2/21/2019, 6:23 AM
@Dren - BP got a lot of views due to being a good movie on its own merit.
Radders
Radders - 2/21/2019, 6:59 AM
@EskimoJ - probably but it being part of a franchise and the film before Infinity War would have been a factor.
JDL
JDL - 2/21/2019, 5:40 AM
@LiteraryJoe Played by Alison Brie ? DUDE ! Really ? :) You might want to edit that. (Its at the very bottom of the post.)
LiteraryJoe
LiteraryJoe - 2/21/2019, 6:28 AM
@JDL - good looks man haha. I'm too community obsessed haha. Thanks.
OmegaDaGrodd
OmegaDaGrodd - 2/21/2019, 5:54 AM
The tinting on the article image made me think we were getting Hydra Cap and I got scared for a minute
LiteraryJoe
LiteraryJoe - 2/21/2019, 7:10 AM
@OmegaDaGrodd - Please no.
LiteraryJoe
LiteraryJoe - 2/21/2019, 7:11 AM
@OmegaDaGrodd - I feel like Marvel will do a Hydra Cap and Doom Iron Man and Superior Spider-Man (Ock) team up right?

Kidding.
Starlight
Starlight - 2/21/2019, 5:58 AM
MY GAAAAD, those numbers....
mehhhh
mehhhh - 2/21/2019, 6:08 AM
This post is inane. Let's discuss why. First, Ant-Man made more money world wide because it was released in 2015, 7 years after Iron Man. In that 7 year period ticket prices went up and expansion of movie theaters in other countries continued (the biggest being China). Adjusted for inflation, Iron Man made more money. (see, https://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=avengers.htm)

Moreover, future releases started to earn more money internationally. Again, it is because of the expansion of movie theaters in other countries and price of tickets (China).

What is interesting is that Black Panther made more money domestically than internationally when released in Feb. 2017. This is in contrast to over movies released in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Why? My cynical guess is that an all black cast doesn't play as well overseas as it does here. The only other movies to make more domestically than internationally were Iron Man 1 and 2 and The Incredible Hulk. Those movies were released on 2098 and 2010 respectively.

This article is not well thought out.
EskimoJ
EskimoJ - 2/21/2019, 6:16 AM
@mehhhh - I mean, Black Panther still has the sixth-highest international total in the entire MCU (behind the three Avengers films, Iron Man 3, and Civil War), so it's equally not right to say "all black" doesn't play as well -- it was nearly a 50/50 split.

Sidenote: Obvious 2098 typo aside, BP was released Feb. 2018, not 2017.
EskimoJ
EskimoJ - 2/21/2019, 6:20 AM
Honestly, my only real gripe with this article is that it talks about the "profit" made by the films...but doesn't take into account how much the film cost -- which might just be the biggest key.

Generating $1 billion in box office revenue off a $500 million budget (including marketing and what-not) means LESS profit than $800 million off a $200 million budget, for example.
HeavyMetal4Life
HeavyMetal4Life - 2/21/2019, 6:21 AM
@EskimoJ - yeah this is a box office article, not a profit article
LiteraryJoe
LiteraryJoe - 2/21/2019, 6:33 AM
@EskimoJ @heavymetal4life - This is a good point, thanks!
LiteraryJoe
LiteraryJoe - 2/21/2019, 6:50 AM
@HeavyMetal4Life @EskimoJ - all fixed! Sorry, it was a long night of writing!
gulducati
gulducati - 2/21/2019, 10:15 AM
@EskimoJ - You do have a good point, even though the article is stated as BO. I'd like to see how everything lines up when you take into account smaller marketing budgets, no RDJ sized pay checks, smaller ILM budget, etc.
ElvenKingSlayer
ElvenKingSlayer - 2/21/2019, 12:35 PM
@gulducati - It would indeed be very interesting to se that list. Any possibility some one could make that even if it involves speculation? @LiteraryJoe
LiteraryJoe
LiteraryJoe - 2/21/2019, 7:36 PM
@ElvenKingSlayer - For 20 movies that would be a monumental amount of work, though I too would like to see that data.
WakandanQueen
WakandanQueen - 2/21/2019, 6:24 AM
Marvel's least popular current franchise has already made $1.1B+, yet somehow, some people actually believe Captain Marvel will flop...
EskimoJ
EskimoJ - 2/21/2019, 6:26 AM
@WakandanQueen - Some people also huff paint on a regular basis.
LiteraryJoe
LiteraryJoe - 2/21/2019, 6:34 AM
@WakandanQueen - I see it exceeding projections.
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