The biggest Marvel Cinematic Universe movies have also tended to be the leggiest features in this multimedia saga. These aren’t just blockbusters that are big for a day or two before crashing. The Avengers, Black Panther, Iron Man, and Guardians of the Galaxy (among others) did more than three times their respective domestic opening weekends. Audiences went out to revisit these movies again and again, while moviegoers agnostic to the MCU ended up catching up on these titles because the buzz was inescapable. However, not every MCU movie has had such sturdy weekend-to-weekend drops or cultural longevity.
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With all eyes on how Captain America: Brave New World holds in its second frame, it’s worth remembering seven Marvel Cinematic Universe titles that had especially heavy second-weekend box office declines, with all these projects emerging during the franchise’s Phase Four and Phase Five offerings. Modern Marvel Studios titles have often struggled to keep audiences engaged compared to earlier MCU titles. That reality is how you end up with the seven-biggest second-weekend drop-offs in the MCU.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – 63%
To date, Black Panther experienced the smallest second-weekend drop-off in the MCU with just 44.7%. That’s especially incredible since it opened to a massive $202 million. Its sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, wasn’t quite as leggy. After scoring the biggest November opening weekend in history ($181.3 million), this feature tumbled 63% in its second frame. That heftier drop still meant Wakanda Forever grossed $66.48 million in its second weekend, but it was clear this Black Panther installment (with a more dour tone and lengthier run time than its predecessor) wasn’t another pop culture phenomenon.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – 67%
Before 2022, no MCU movie opening over the first weekend of May had ever dropped 60% or more. The heftiest second-weekend declines for this strain of MCU cinema belonged to the 59% declines of Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War. That all changed with 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which plummeted 67% in its second weekend. A more divisive response to this feature undoubtedly inspired the plummet, with Madness failing to inspire the endless revisits that past early May MCU titles like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Iron Man secured.
Spider-Man: No Way Home – 67.5%
Out of all the movies on this list, Spider-Man: No Way Home is the only one whose 63+% second-weekend drop-off is understandable. For starters, it debuted to $260 million in the U.S. alone. That meant its 67% second-weekend drop-off still led to a massive $84.54 million second weekend. More importantly, No Way Home’s second Friday coincided with Christmas Eve, a notoriously suppressed day for moviegoing. An 84% plummet from its first to second Friday largely accounted for that 67% drop. Starting with its third frame, No Way Home almost exclusively had weekend-to-weekend drops of 38% or less. That led to it exceeding $800 million in North America and more than tripling its gargantuan debut.
[RELATED: Captain America: Brave New World’s President Ross Continues A Weird MCU Flaw]
Thor: Love and Thunder – 67.6%
Far less understandable was Thor: Love and Thunder’s 67.6% second-weekend dropoff, which was temporarily the biggest second-weekend decline ever for a theatrical exclusive MCU movie. Ironically, the first Thor back in 2011 had one of the tiniest MCU second-weekend dropoffs with a mere 47.2% decline. Love and Thunder’s plummet was thanks to moviegoers largely greeting this installment with a shrug rather than the glee of Thor: Ragnarok.
Black Widow – 67.8%
For a brief moment, it looked like Black Widow’s 67.8% second-weekend decline was because of larger corporate mandates rather than post-2019 MCU problems. Unlike every other MCU movie, Black Widow simultaneously debuted as a premium video-on-demand title on Disney+. Putting this feature on the Internet right away inevitably ensured many people wouldn’t rush out to revisit it in theaters. Plus, Black Widow’s darker tone (particularly in its opening credits) meant it wasn’t exactly a superhero adventure people were scrambling to re-experience.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – 70%
There’s just no other word to describe Ant-Man and the Wasp: Qunatumania’s second-weekend plunge than embarrassing. After opening to $106.1 million, Quantumania fell a staggering 70% for a $31.96 million second-weekend haul. That puts it among only seven movies in history (including fellow comic book adaptations Morbius and The Suicide Squad) to open in 4,000+ theaters yet drop 70+% in their respective second weekends. Audience fatigue with the MCU reached a new high with Quantumania as moviegoers rejected this multiversal tale full of franchise set-up and subdued colors. One of the most frontloaded blockbusters of all time, Quantumania somehow wasn’t the most frontloaded MCU title of 2023.
The Marvels – 78%
“The Marvels is dead. Bury it.” That’s how Henry Cavill’s Superman might’ve summed up the disastrous opening weekend for the excessively costly The Marvels, which opened to only $46.1 million. Tepid audience reactions combined with a week’s worth of news pieces talking about the staggering financial losses of The Marvels ensured there would be no second-weekend salvation for this Nia DaCosta-directed tentpole. The Marvels plummeted an eye-popping 78% for a dismal $10.1 million second-weekend haul. As if it wasn’t already apparent before, having (to date) the 35th biggest second-weekend decline in domestic box office history cemented The Marvels as a gargantuan flop.
Which Marvel movie’s second-weekend drop are you most surprised by? Let us know in the comments below!
