NEW YORK 鈥 Marvel Studios鈥 鈥淭hunderbolts" opened with $76 million in domestic ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday, kicking off the summer box office with a solid No. 1 debut that fell shy of Marvel鈥檚 more spectacular launches.
All eyes were on whether 鈥淭hunderbolts鈥 鈥 a team-up of antihero rejects similar to 鈥淎vengers鈥澛犫 could restore the Walt Disney Co. superhero factory to the kind of box office performance the studio once enjoyed so regularly. The results聽鈥 similar to the debuts of 鈥淭he Eternals鈥 ($71 million) and 鈥淎nt-Man and the Wasp鈥 ($75 million) 鈥 suggested Marvel鈥檚 malaise won鈥檛 be so easy to snap out of.
Some expected a bigger opening for 鈥淭hunderbolts鈥 because of the film's good word-of-mouth. Unlike most recent MCU entries, reviews (88% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) have been excellent for 鈥淭hunderbolts,鈥 directed by Jake Schreier and starring Florence Pugh, David Harbour and Sebastian Stan. Audiences gave it an 鈥淎-鈥 CinemaScore.
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That kind of response should power the movie to strong business in the coming weeks. Though bigger MCU films 鈥 including 2024鈥檚 鈥淒eadpool vs. Wolverine鈥 (with a $211 million opening on the way to $1.34 billion worldwide) 鈥 have monopolized movie screens immediately, 鈥淭hunderbolts鈥 could gather steam more steadily. Or, it could go down as another example of Marvel struggling to rekindle its golden touch.
Marvel spent about $180 million to produced the movie, which added $86.1 million in overseas sales. The film also teases the next MCU chapter, 鈥淭he Fantastic Four: First Steps,鈥 due out July 25.
鈥淢arvel set the bar so high for so many years that a $76 million opening may seem to some like it should have done $100 million or something like that,鈥 said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥淭his is a great reset. They're hitting the reset with 鈥楾hunderbolts." The great reviews and the word-of-mouth should hold it (in) good stead.鈥
The Walt Disney Co. also might not have expected such stout competition from Ryan Coogler鈥檚 鈥淪inners.鈥 The Warner Bros. release, which had led the box office the last two weeks, continued to hold remarkably well. In its third week, it grossed $33 million, a dip of only 28%.
鈥淪inners,鈥 a 1932-set vampire movie about bootlegging brothers (both played by Michael B. Jordan) who open a juke joint in their Mississippi hometown, has proven a spring sensation in theaters. It has collected $179.7 million domestically and $236.7 million globally thus far.
Warner Bros. also nabbed third place with 鈥淎 Minecraft Movie,鈥 the smash-hit video game adaptation. In its fifth weekend, it rung up another $13.7 million to bring its North American gross to nearly $400 million. Worldwide, it has totaled $873.4 million. Warner Bros. added 鈥淏lock Party Edition鈥 screenings over the weekend for a sing-along and 鈥渕eme-along鈥 experience. The film has seen some rowdy screenings from TikTok-inspired moviegoers.
More than three years after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed on set, the Alec Baldwin western 鈥淩ust鈥 arrived in theaters. Its release brought some closure to one of Hollywood鈥檚 greatest tragedies. Distributor Falling Forward Films didn't report box office, but estimates suggested 鈥淩ust鈥 grossed approximately $25,000 in 115 theaters.
Following Hutchins鈥 death, the film鈥檚 armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was sentenced to prison for involuntary manslaughter. First assistant director David Halls was sentenced to probation after pleading no contest to negligent use of a deadly weapon. Involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin, a co-producer on the film, were twice dismissed, in 2023 and again in 2024.
As part of a wrongful death settlement, Matt Hutchins, Hutchins' husband, was made an executive producer on the film.
