Early opening weekend projections for Thunderbolts* suggested the movie could open to as little as $63 million. Following yesterday's glowing reviews for the latest MCU title, those have risen to an estimated $70 million - $75 million, according to Variety.
As we reported yesterday evening, Thunderbolts* is still eyeing a global bow of somewhere between $160 million - $175 million.
While this is a good start for the movie, it's on the softer side for a new Marvel Studios release. Captain America: Brave New World managed to open to $88 million amid negative reviews, and only that and three other post-pandemic MCU blockbusters have opened beneath $100 million.
Those are Eternals ($71 million), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ($75 million), and The Marvels ($46 million).
The Thunderbolts aren't a well-known group of characters to non-comic book fans, so perhaps Disney would have been wise to reveal the meaning of that asterisk in advance. If nothing else, it might have increased interest among casual viewers.
This $75 million debut isn't all bad news, though; Thunderbolts* cost $180 million to produce and roughly $100 million to market, meaning it's on the cheaper end of MCU movies in terms of budget.
The positive reviews should also translate to good word-of-mouth; if so, Thunderbolts* won't have the same disastrous second weekend drop of the last Captain America movie, for example. It will, however, have to contend with Ryan Coogler's Sinners taking a bite out of its debut as that's expected to make as much as $35 million in the U.S. this weekend.
As long as Thunderbolts* is a modest hit, it will put Marvel Studios in good standing heading into The Fantastic Four: First Steps later this summer and Avengers: Doomsday next May.
What will you be watching in theaters next weekend?
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?
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 currently set to be released in theaters on May 2, 2025.