Box Office: Thunderbolts* Tops Second Weekend With One Of The Best Drops For An MCU Movie
Thunderbolts* has turned out an astounding second weekend at the domestic box office. The new movie, which is the 36th feature-length installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, follows the formation of a team of antiheroes from previous installments in the superhero franchise, including Ant-Man and the Wasp"s Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), The Falcon and the Winter Soldier"s U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), and Black Widow"s Red Guardian (David Harbour) and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh). The Thunderbolts* release kicked off somewhat inauspiciously with a $74.3 million debut that landed below the previous installment, Captain America: Brave New World ($88.8 million).
Per Deadline, as of Saturday morning, Thunderbolts* is projected to close out its sophomore weekend with a 3-day total of $35 million at the domestic box office, which would give it a week-on-week drop of roughly 53%. This is more than enough for it to take No. 1 for the second weekend in a row, because it doesn"t face any major competition from new wide releases.
Additionally, this is set to be one of the 10 smallest drops in the history of the MCU. Its current projections see it ending up with the eighth-best week 2 drop of the entire franchise, even beating out the billion-dollar hit Deadpool & Wolverine (-54.2%).
What This Means For Thunderbolts* It Could Become A Sleeper Success While the current projections for Thunderbolts* could fluctuate slightly by the end of the weekend, it will land on the chart as long as it drops 55.3% or less. It is securely at the lower end of the MCU, which has week 2 drops that range between the 44.7% dip of Black Panther (which is the seventh highest-grossing movie in the franchise) and the devastating 78.1% fall of The Marvels (which is the lowest-grossing installment). Below, see a breakdown of the 10 smallest week 2 drops for MCU movies ahead of the release of the new 2025 installment:
Title
Week 2 Drop
Black Panther (2018)
-44.7%
Thor (2011)
-47.2%
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
-47.6%
Iron Man (2008)
-48.1%
Doctor Strange (2016)
-49.5%
The Avengers (2012)
-50.3%
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
-51%
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
-53.5%
Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
-54%
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
-55.3%
This slim drop is very good news for the movie, because the reported Thunderbolts* budget of $180 million exactly matches the price tag of Captain America: Brave New World, which has so far failed to hit its estimated break-even point of $450 million, only grossing $415 million at the time of writing. However, the new movie"s smaller drop sees it catching up with Captain America, which had a higher opening weekend total but a significantly lower sophomore weekend haul of $28.2 million after a brutal 68.3% stumble, which was one of the biggest drops in the franchise.
Our Take On The Weekend Box Office Thunderbolts* Streak At No. 1 Is About To End Close Thunderbolts* is now more firmly on the path toward profitability, but it remains to be seen if it can maintain its streak at No. 1 for a third consecutive weekend. Its first major wide release competition is the upcoming Final Destination: Bloodlines, which debuts on May 16. Per Box Office Theory, the sixth installment in the iconic horror franchise is currently projected to debut with more than $30 million, so it seems highly likely to beat out the Marvel movie for the No. 1 slot, because a third weekend drop low enough to avoid that fate is essentially unprecedented.
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Source: Deadline & Box Office Theory
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Like Follow Followed Thunderbolts* PG-13 Adventure Action Sci-Fi![]()
8/10 175 8.9/10 Release Date May 2, 2025 Runtime 126 Minutes Director Jake Schreier Writers Eric Pearson, Joanna Calo Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe Cast See All ![]()
Florence Pugh Yelena Belova ![]()
Sebastian Stan James Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier
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Per Deadline, as of Saturday morning, Thunderbolts* is projected to close out its sophomore weekend with a 3-day total of $35 million at the domestic box office, which would give it a week-on-week drop of roughly 53%. This is more than enough for it to take No. 1 for the second weekend in a row, because it doesn"t face any major competition from new wide releases.
Additionally, this is set to be one of the 10 smallest drops in the history of the MCU. Its current projections see it ending up with the eighth-best week 2 drop of the entire franchise, even beating out the billion-dollar hit Deadpool & Wolverine (-54.2%).
What This Means For Thunderbolts* It Could Become A Sleeper Success While the current projections for Thunderbolts* could fluctuate slightly by the end of the weekend, it will land on the chart as long as it drops 55.3% or less. It is securely at the lower end of the MCU, which has week 2 drops that range between the 44.7% dip of Black Panther (which is the seventh highest-grossing movie in the franchise) and the devastating 78.1% fall of The Marvels (which is the lowest-grossing installment). Below, see a breakdown of the 10 smallest week 2 drops for MCU movies ahead of the release of the new 2025 installment:
Title
Week 2 Drop
Black Panther (2018)
-44.7%
Thor (2011)
-47.2%
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
-47.6%
Iron Man (2008)
-48.1%
Doctor Strange (2016)
-49.5%
The Avengers (2012)
-50.3%
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
-51%
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
-53.5%
Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
-54%
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
-55.3%
This slim drop is very good news for the movie, because the reported Thunderbolts* budget of $180 million exactly matches the price tag of Captain America: Brave New World, which has so far failed to hit its estimated break-even point of $450 million, only grossing $415 million at the time of writing. However, the new movie"s smaller drop sees it catching up with Captain America, which had a higher opening weekend total but a significantly lower sophomore weekend haul of $28.2 million after a brutal 68.3% stumble, which was one of the biggest drops in the franchise.
Our Take On The Weekend Box Office Thunderbolts* Streak At No. 1 Is About To End Close Thunderbolts* is now more firmly on the path toward profitability, but it remains to be seen if it can maintain its streak at No. 1 for a third consecutive weekend. Its first major wide release competition is the upcoming Final Destination: Bloodlines, which debuts on May 16. Per Box Office Theory, the sixth installment in the iconic horror franchise is currently projected to debut with more than $30 million, so it seems highly likely to beat out the Marvel movie for the No. 1 slot, because a third weekend drop low enough to avoid that fate is essentially unprecedented.
Enjoy ScreenRant"s box office coverage? Click below to sign up for my weekly box office newsletter (make sure to check "Box Office" in your preferences) and get exclusive analysis, predictions, and more:
Sign Up
Source: Deadline & Box Office Theory
Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Leave a Review Your comment has not been savedLike Follow Followed Thunderbolts* PG-13 Adventure Action Sci-Fi
8/10 175 8.9/10 Release Date May 2, 2025 Runtime 126 Minutes Director Jake Schreier Writers Eric Pearson, Joanna Calo Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe Cast See All 
Florence Pugh Yelena Belova 
Sebastian Stan James Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier Powered by
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