Thunderbolts* kicked off the summer movie season with solid ticket sales, after getting high marks from critics for injecting “new life” into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The film opened to strong reviews and an estimated $76 million in ticket sales, Comscore reported Sunday. The Disney and Marvel Studios release played in 4,330 theaters across the U.S. and Canada, for a per location average of $17,552.
Directed by Emmy winner Jake Schreier (Beef), Thunderbolts* features English actress Florence Pugh as trained assassin Yelena Belova, who appeared in Black Widow (2021).
This time, Yelena is working undercover missions for shady government director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, played by comedy icon Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
After finding themselves in a death trap set by Valentina, Yelena and other misfit heroes are forced to confront the darkest corners of their pasts. Pugh is joined in the cast by Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Olga Kurylenko, and Wyatt Russell.
Also Read: ‘Sinners’ Surges Even Higher Thanks to These 10 Locations
Moviegoers liked what they saw, and gave the film an “A-” CinemaScore in exit polling. Critics also embraced the MCU saga, handing it an 88 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.
“Thunderbolts* is the best Marvel movie in years,” wrote Amanda Mazzillo of Film Joy reviews.
“Marvel manages to fly again thanks to a strong cast and a fresher-than-usual story,” Rafer Guzman shared with Newsday readers.
“The Thunderbolts* rag-tag team brings humor and new life to MCU,” Kathia Woods wrote in her review for the Philadelphia Tribune.
While Thunderbolts* got high marks from critics, the film’s $76 million opening came in behind the MCU’s Captain America: Brave New World, which debuted in February with $88.8 million domestically, according to BoxOfficeMojo.
Both films carried reported production budgets of $180 million, plus millions more in marketing costs.
On Sunday, Variety reported the Thunderbolts* opening was on “the softer side for Marvel adventures” featuring better known characters like Thor, Deadpool and Wolverine, “which regularly generate at least $100 million to start.” Still, the outlet said thanks to strong reviews, Thunderbolts* could draw crowds well into the future.
Elsewhere this weekend, Warner Bros.’ Sinners continued its jaw-dropping theatrical run. The film slipped to second place after taking in another $33 million in its third weekend of release, Comscore reported. To date, the Ryan Coogler film starring Michael B. Jordan has earned a whopping $180 million domestically.
A Minecraft Movie, also from Warner Bros, was third with $13.7 million Friday through Sunday. After five weeks, the film has taken in $398.2 million in North America.
Amazon MGM Studios’ release The Accountant 2 took fourth place with $9.4 million, bringing its two-week total to $41.1 million. Until Dawn rounded out the top five in $3.8 million in its second weekend.
Check out the box office chart below from Comscore Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
With the debut of @WaltDisneyCo‘s @MarvelStudios @Marvel film #Thunderbolts, May is shaping up to be one the best on record and on the horizon is a potentially record-breaking Memorial Weekend frame that will blow the doors off previous such frames, (#LiloImpossible anyone).… pic.twitter.com/hU6Slwktqm
— Paul Dergarabedian (@PDergarabedian) May 4, 2025
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