Thunderbolts* Thursday Box Office Below Captain America 4

As Marvel’s Thunderbolts* opens in theaters to kick off the summer movie season, its Thursday box office numbers are trailing some other notable Multiverse Saga titles. According to Deadline, Thunderbolts* brought in $11.5 million domestically from preview screenings that took place on May 1. That figure is slightly below what Captain America: Brave New World posted from its Thursday preview screenings in mid-February ($12 million). The initial projections had Thunderbolts* pegged for $11 million, so it ended up making a little more. However, its gross is also behind Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($17.5 million).

Thunderbolts* did beat out the Thursday hauls for pandemic-era releases Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ($8.8 million) and Eternals ($9.5 million). The latest weekend estimates have Thunderbolts* pegged for a domestic opening in the range of $70-75 million and $175 million globally.

Those Thunderbolts* projections haven’t shifted much from the early estimates that came out a few weeks ago. In April, the “target number” for the film’s stateside debut was around $70 million. In the time since, Thunderbolts* has earned positive word of mouth, with some people considering it to be one of the best Marvel films in years. Its Rotten Tomatoes score is the highest for an MCU installment since Spider-Man: No Way Home.

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Captain America: Brave New World, which earned a far more mixed reception than Thunderbolts*, ended up becoming a box office disappointment for Marvel. It’s one of the lowest-grossing MCU installments to date, bringing in just $414.8 million worldwide. After getting off to a decent start over the extended Presidents’ Day weekend, it did not have strong legs at the box office and quickly fell down the charts.

Thunderbolts* is projected to open well below Brave New World‘s three-day start ($88.8 million), so perhaps it isn’t surprising its Thursday gross was a little less than Captain America. That said, this shouldn’t be taken as a sign that Thunderbolts* is going to be another box office disappointment for the MCU. It should benefit from the stronger word of mouth; due to the ups and downs over the course of the Multiverse Saga, Marvel movies are no longer immediate must-see events to some filmgoers. Instead of rushing out on opening night to see the next chapter in the ongoing story, some audiences might want to wait and see if it’s worth the trip. Thunderbolts* appears to be worth it, and perhaps the positive reviews will help it exceed box office expectations over this weekend. Sinners remains a big draw, but Thunderbolts* isn’t facing much direct competition.

Additionally, there aren’t many high-profile titles opening over the next couple of weeks, so Thunderbolts* has a nice runway to put together a lucrative box office run. While Marvel would obviously love to have the biggest opening possible, what will make or break Thunderbolts* at the box office is how well it holds throughout the month. Ideally, it will be able to take advantage of a relatively soft marketplace before the one-two punch of Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning deliver a record-breaking Memorial Day weekend. Given how much Marvel has invested in Thunderbolts*, the studio needs it to be a huge success.