THE NEW AVENGERS' Questionable Marketing Gimmick Sets Several Franchise Box Office Lows

THE NEW AVENGERS' Questionable Marketing Gimmick Sets Several Franchise Box Office Lows

As a standalone debut in the MCU, Thunderbolts* delivered a decent box office performance, but as an Avengers film, it's kind of a colossal failure.

By MarkJulian - May 06, 2025 06:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Thunderbolts

The mystery surrounding the asterisk in the title of Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts*, has been officially unveiled, offering a significant recontextualization of the project and its place within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

It seems the asterisk was a deliberate, albeit subtle, indicator of the film's true nature: a clandestine New Avengers project spearheaded by director Jake Schreier and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige.

This revelation directly addresses the noticeable divergence in the film's roster when compared to the various iterations of the Thunderbolts team in Marvel Comics.

Rather than a straightforward adaptation of the anti-hero/villain squad, Thunderbolts* is now positioned as a foundational narrative for a new assembly of heroes, seemingly intended to fill the void left by the original Avengers lineup as we head into Doomsday and Secret Wars.

However, this incredibly ambitious pivot raises critical questions about the film's strategic placement within the MCU timeline, particularly as it now invites direct comparison to the established Avengers franchise, typically reserved for culminating phases of the cinematic universe.

The move has elicited a mixed response from industry analysts, with some expressing intrigue while others voice concerns about potential audience confusion and the inherent pressure of living up to the Avengers' legacy.

Even the lowest-regarded Avengers film, Avengers: Ultron, opened to 5x the amount of The New Avengers. Why would Marvel Studios open themselves up to this comparison if they weren't confident that this film could pull similar numbers?

The success of The New Avengers will be closely scrutinized, not only for its own merit but also as a crucial indicator of the MCU's ability to successfully transition into a new era of heroes.

The weight of expectation, amplified by the implicit comparison to the Avengers franchise, will undoubtedly place considerable pressure on the film's critical reception and box office performance.

As the film continues to play in theaters and faces some stiff competition in the coming weeks, the industry will be watching to see if this bold strategic gamble pays off for Marvel Studios.

Thunderbolts* The New Avengers is a Phase 5 MCU film now playing in North American theaters.  The film is currently slated to close out Phase 5 of the MCU.

Jake Schreier directs from a script written by Eric Pearson, Lee Sung Jin, and Joanna Calo.

The film stars Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr / Ghost, Wyatt Russell as John Walker / U.S. Agent, Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov / Taskmaster, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Lewis Pullman has also been cast as The Sentry/Void.

Principal photography began on February 26, 2024, wrapped in June.

The film is inspired by the Marvel Comics title of the same name, where the main Avengers team disbands after the Scarlet Witch's insanity first surfaces near the conclusion of Avengers Disassembled. When a mass breakout occurs at The Raft, Captain America, Spider-Woman, Sentry, Spider-Man, Daredevil and Luke Cage arrive to stop the riot.  Cap then declares that fate brought them all together that day and states that The New Avengers have been born.

About Thunderbolts*
 In Thunderbolts* The New Avengers, Marvel Studios assembles an unconventional team of antiheroes — Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker. After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap set by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, these disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts. Will this dysfunctional group tear themselves apart, or find redemption and unite as something much more before it’s too late?

AVENGERS Social Media Accounts Officially Add © Copyright Symbol Following THUNDERBOLTS* Post-Credits Reveal
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AVENGERS Social Media Accounts Officially Add © Copyright Symbol Following THUNDERBOLTS* Post-Credits Reveal

THUNDERBOLTS* Writer Reveals Exact Moment Decision Was Made To Pivot To *THE NEW AVENGERS Reveal
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THUNDERBOLTS* Writer Reveals Exact Moment Decision Was Made To Pivot To *THE NEW AVENGERS Reveal

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philinterrupted
philinterrupted - 5/6/2025, 7:09 AM
Naming it The New Avengers after the fact doesn’t make this a box office failure.
You do understand the context, right?
Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 5/6/2025, 7:50 AM
@philinterrupted - No, but this does:
"Adjusted for inflation, THUNDERBOLTS* is the 2nd lowest domestic debut ever in the MCU... behind only THE MARVELS.

Yes, lower than THE INCREDIBLE HULK and ANT-MAN."
ClintthaManster
ClintthaManster - 5/6/2025, 8:06 AM
@Feralwookiee - It's a shame, really. I don't blame folks for being skeptical of new MCU offerings, but they actually got it right this time.
dragon316
dragon316 - 5/6/2025, 8:14 AM
@philinterrupted - but how can it failure it have 88 on rotten tomatoes all movies with those scores become successful always . My question is not be taken serious mocking rotten tomatoes and critics this movie have high score it guaranteed success no matter what
bobevanz
bobevanz - 5/6/2025, 8:20 AM
@philinterrupted - the biggest take away is this movie is really good. Better than Cap 4, better than almost every phase 4 and 5 movie. This might underperform only because the general audience is practically done with movies that don't include nostalgia bait or 50 heroes. Disney should be proud they made a good movie, they should also be mad it took them this [frick]ing long to realize the damage they've done with Disney+. They'll be fine though. Making 2 billion from Zootopia 2 and another 2 billion+ from Avatar let them take this risk
Juicebox316
Juicebox316 - 5/6/2025, 7:14 AM
This could quite possibly be the worst hot take of all-time. Its not even worth comparing. This wasn't an Avengers event film and Mark knows that. But, hey... anything for clicks.
Scarilian
Scarilian - 5/6/2025, 8:00 AM
@Juicebox316 -
A team-up moving with characters featured in over 20 installments of MCU media and it's not an Avengers level event film despite them being the only Avengers Team we'll see going into Avengers Doomsday?

The cope is strong here.
defenderofthefaith
defenderofthefaith - 5/6/2025, 7:25 AM
When it was in the theaters this weekend it was called Thunderbolts meaning it made its money as Thunderbolts and not Avengers. Changing it afterwards and then saying it was a horrible debut for an Avengers movie is so misleading.
Kozmik
Kozmik - 5/6/2025, 7:33 AM
What utter nonsense. 'The New Avengers' is a title, never mind one that was added retroactively.

The idea that the writer of this piece is comparing it to an actual Avengers movie is kinda silly.
harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 5/6/2025, 7:35 AM
i blame brie larson for this sh1t
UnderBelly
UnderBelly - 5/6/2025, 7:36 AM
The * and re titling is a smart move. People are talking about Marvel again.

SteviesRightFoo
SteviesRightFoo - 5/6/2025, 7:47 AM
It's amazing how insufferable Feige has become over the years
JacobsLadder
JacobsLadder - 5/6/2025, 7:54 AM
@SteviesRightFoo - he should've stepped down after End Game and went out like a hero. He could've went anywhere and started fresh. Hell, go to Lucasfilm and replace that wench.
SteviesRightFoo
SteviesRightFoo - 5/6/2025, 8:49 AM
@JacobsLadder - yes true. I've never cared one iota for star wars but I can acknowledge it's been dragged through the mud
JacobsLadder
JacobsLadder - 5/6/2025, 7:53 AM
This is just embarrassing.
JustAWaffle
JustAWaffle - 5/6/2025, 7:57 AM
That wasn't the wisest move. The Avengers had a level of quality that set a high bar. This is an incredibly mid film (though much higher for post End Game standards), and the lineup leaves a whole lot to be desired. Even the FF coming didn't foster a lot of excitement.

I'm just hoping they can knock it out of the park with Doomsday and Secret War.

Pigdango
Pigdango - 5/6/2025, 7:59 AM
Today I learned that $191 is 5x $74.
Methos5000
Methos5000 - 5/6/2025, 8:01 AM
Wow this is a moronic article. And if you are going to adjust for inflation, you need to adjust for all of the othet factors in society that have changed in the years since each release including movie going habbits, tanking economy, less disbosable income, etc.. It's not a one to one comparison and anyone who is not a moron would tell you so.
itzayaboy
itzayaboy - 5/6/2025, 8:06 AM
This site has gone down the shifter with this constant stupid editorials. More news less stupid opinions.
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 5/6/2025, 8:42 AM
@itzayaboy - the first thing i checked is that it is tagged as "news"
Yellow
Yellow - 5/6/2025, 8:09 AM
It was just a marketing gimmick, we all know this isn't an Avengers movie.
But, i'll be honest I enjoyed it more than AoU.
TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 5/6/2025, 8:40 AM
@Yellow - Thank you for being honest about that.
dragon316
dragon316 - 5/6/2025, 8:17 AM
Don’t think new fans like these characters that’s problem new fans like entertainment but don’t read comics they like avengers team not anti avengers team hard find answer and having competition with vampire movie does not help
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 5/6/2025, 8:27 AM
What are we complaining about meow?
MisterBones
MisterBones - 5/6/2025, 8:40 AM
It’s not an avengers film
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/6/2025, 8:42 AM
I think we just need to accept that the movie landscape has changed…

Most people after the pandemic would rather watch movies at home aside from some rare exceptions here & there such as Sinners or “Barbenheimer” which became cultural phenomenons/events that everyone wanted to be a part of.

Idk if it will ever go back to “normal” so studios need to adjust their budgets & such accordingly imo.

Anyway , I hope the New Avengers title reveal strategy works out since that brand still carries weight so hope the film is successful because it’s a solid movie that deserves success!!.
SATW42
SATW42 - 5/6/2025, 8:45 AM
comparing it to Avengers openings is [frick]ing wild. And by wild I mean [frick]ing stupid.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/6/2025, 8:57 AM
@SATW42 - agreed

If it was marketed with the Avengers name from the onset then sure I guess but it wasn’t so it’s weird to compare
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 5/6/2025, 8:47 AM
I wouldn't really call it an Avengers movie. It's New Avengers, it is it's own thing. If they wanted it to be an Avengers movie, they would've marketed it as such from the beginning.
Kozmik
Kozmik - 5/6/2025, 8:59 AM
@bkmeijer1 - What!? Someone responding with a commonsensical point!?

You do know that this is Comicbookmovie.com,right?

Where's the weird, rightward-tinged rant?
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 5/6/2025, 9:22 AM
@Kozmik - oh yeah, I'm sorry. Forgot that, meant to say:

Ofcourse it's the worst performing Avengers movie. It's a coordinated effort from foreign countries that have been stealing Hollywood movies by giving big support money to them! No money is made anymore. It's time movies are being made in America again so audiences would want to see them again!

That better?
NGFB
NGFB - 5/6/2025, 8:58 AM
Box offices post Covid can't be compared to box offices pre Covid. With very few exceptions, the pandemic killed peoples desire to go out to the movies, when they can watch everything at home in 4K and on huge screens, without having to pay $20 for a soda and popcorn.
CaptainDC
CaptainDC - 5/6/2025, 10:05 AM
What a stupid take. The movie is performing well at the box office.

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