While Disney and Marvel Studios haven't "officially" retitled Thunderbolts*, *The New Avengers marketing does appear to have paid off for the latest MCU movie.
According to current estimates from Deadline, Thunderbolts* is outperforming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings with a $9 million Friday and a predicted $35 million second weekend total.
If those numbers stick, then the movie will have dipped by only -53%, a solid hold and one that once again puts it in line with Shang-Chi (which dipped by 54% during its second weekend and ultimately grossed over $400 million worldwide).
By Sunday, Thunderbolts* will have made $130 million worldwide. While these aren't exactly Avengers-level figures, Thunderbolts* wasn't marketed as an Avengers movie and focuses on a team with little mainstream recognition. Oh, and characters who have either appeared in only supporting roles or in a single MCU film or TV show before this one.
Crucially, Thunderbolts* is holding up much better than Captain America: Brave New World. That movie had a considerably bigger budget and dropped by -68% during its second weekend following negative reviews. It was ultimately considered a flop.
"*The New Avengers" certainly isn't going to be Marvel Studios' biggest box office hit, but it still comes at a time when the studio desperately needed a movie that was a hit with fans and critics. It has time to find a bigger audience over the coming weeks, and this team being a key part of Avengers: Doomsday should make it a must-watch down the line for those who don't catch it in theaters.
Kevin Feige and company must be happy, anyway, as filmmaker Jake Schreier looks set to helm Marvel Studios' upcoming X-Men reboot.
In Thunderbolts*, 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?
"Thunderbolts* redefines superhero storytelling to deliver a moving and powerful story that does for the 'Multiverse Saga' what The Avengers did for the 'Infinity Saga' in 2012," we said in our review. "These heroes have earned their place on a Wheaties box."
The cast of Thunderbolts* will be led by Florence Pugh as Yelena Boleva, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, and Lewis Pullman as "Bob."
Written by Eric Pearson, Lee Sung Jin, and Joanna Calo, and directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts* is now playing in theaters.