Marvel's 2025 Box Office Shows Decline in MCU's Popularity

For nearly ten years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe reigned supreme at the global box office. From the unexpected success of Iron Man in 2008 to the record-shattering $2.79 billion haul of Avengers: Endgame, Marvel experienced an extraordinary streak. The franchise has earned over $32 billion worldwide in ticket sales. However, recent years have shown a slowdown in its box office momentum, with major hits becoming less frequent.

The year 2025 highlights this shift. Zootopia 2 achieved a remarkable $559.5 million worldwide opening over Thanksgiving, propelling it into the top 10 highest-grossing films globally for the year. This success pushed Marvel's The Fantastic Four: First Steps ($521.8 million) out of the list entirely. Currently, James Gunn's Superman ($616.6 million) stands as the only superhero film in the top 10 for 2025. Excluding 2020, when The New Mutants ($49.1 million) was the sole Marvel release due to the pandemic, this is the first year since 2011 that Marvel Studios has no film in the global top 10.

Back in 2011, only Thor ($449.3 million) and Captain America: The First Avenger ($370.5 million) came out before The Avengers in 2012. That year marked a turning point as The Avengers amassed $1.51 billion, cementing Marvel's dominance. Following that, Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios seemed unstoppable.

Disney reached a milestone in 2019 as the first studio to gross $10 billion in a single year, bolstered by Marvel titles such as Avengers: Endgame ($2.79 billion), Captain Marvel ($1.12 billion), and Sonys Spider-Man: Far From Home ($1.13 billion). Even during the pandemic in 2021, films like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ($432.2 million) and Black Widow ($379.7 million) performed well, though streaming releases affected box office numbers. Spider-Man: No Way Home later that year became a $1.9 billion phenomenon, uniting multiple generations of fans. Yet, audience behavior was shifting; Marvel's brand alone no longer guaranteed must-see status.

2022 marked the last period of undisputed MCU dominance with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($955 million), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ($859.2 million), and Thor: Love and Thunder ($760.9 million) in the global top 10. These were all sequels, and the perceived quality of newer films began to wane. Meanwhile, Disney+ series such as WandaVision and Loki created a fatigue among casual viewers, making the interconnected universe feel overwhelming.

By 2023, cracks in the MCUs armor were evident. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ($845.5 million) succeeded as a trilogy finale, but The Marvels struggled with just $206.1 million, marking the lowest earnings in MCU history. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($476 million) also underperformed. Deadpool & Wolverine in 2024 hit $1.3 billion as the biggest R-rated film ever, but relied heavily on nostalgia rather than launching a new franchise. Since Endgame, Marvel has not successfully established a new blockbuster franchise. Shang-Chi has no sequel, and Eternals concluded quickly.

The aging of core MCU actors adds pressure. Even Robert Downey Jr.'s return as Doctor Doom in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday is an attempt to recapture past glory ahead of the 2027 Avengers: Secret Wars, concluding the Multiverse Saga. 2025 releases like Captain America: Brave New World ($415.1 million) and Thunderbolts ($382.4 million) fell short of expectations despite positive reviews for Thunderbolts. Marvels dominance is clearly waning.

The pressing question remains: can the MCU reclaim its former cultural supremacy, or has its golden era ended? Avengers: Doomsday is set to release on December 18, 2026, potentially offering a glimpse of what the future holds for the franchise.

Author: Sophia Brooks