It’s no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is essentially the most profitable movie franchise of all time. The sequence has only recently begun its fifth Phase, with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 kicking issues off after a rocky Phase Four. Over the course of its 32 characteristic movies, the MCU has grossed over $28 billion worldwide. The pinnacle of the franchise’s field workplace success was 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, which grossed over $2.7 billion worldwide and claimed the highest spot because the highest-grossing movie of all time (earlier than Avatar reclaimed the title a 12 months later).
However, the MCU hasn’t at all times been the simple cash machine that it’s right this moment. Early on, when the concept of “the Marvel Cinematic Universe” was extra so only a hope quite than a actuality, the MCU’s field workplace observe document wasn’t precisely dependable. It actually had some massive hits, however individuals weren’t going out in droves to see a film simply because it had the Marvel Studios branding on it. With grosses courtesy of The Numbers, right here is how each movie from Phase One of the MCU ranks by way of field workplace outcomes:
6 The Incredible Hulk – $265,573,859
Not solely is The Incredible Hulk the lowest-grossing movie of Marvel’s Phase One, however it’s the lowest-grossing movie within the entirety of the MCU. Released in June 2008, solely a month after the primary Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk was solely the second movie from the brand new Marvel franchise to hit theaters. The movie, starring Edward Norton, was the second Hulk movie to be launched within the 2000s, following the 2003 Ang Lee-directed Hulk from 2003.
The Incredible Hulk opened to $55 million domestically, and it went on to gross $134 million in North America and a complete of $265 million globally. On a manufacturing funds of $137 million, the movie doubtless simply barely broke even after taking advertising and marketing prices into consideration. As the weakest monetary hyperlink within the MCU and one of many weakest entries creatively as properly, it’s straightforward to see why this film is so simply forgotten about.
5 Captain America: The First Avenger – $370,569,776
Captain America, then again, is a personality that went on to change into a vital constructing block to the Marvel franchise. It wasn’t till the sequel, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, that Cap began bringing in massive numbers, although. In the identical method that The Incredible Hulk was the lowest-grossing movie of each Phase One and the MCU on the entire, Captain America: The First Avenger takes the second-lowest spot on each these lists as properly.
The First Avenger wasn’t as massive a disappointment as The Incredible Hulk,although. The movie debuted at $65 million in its opening weekend in July 2011, and it went on to gross $176 million domestically and $370 million general. Those aren’t game-changing numbers, however they’re respectable and had been actually robust sufficient to construct upon.
4 Thor – $449,326,618
Moving a bit of additional up on the MCU’s field workplace charts, the primary Thor was the riskiest entry of Phase One. That’s as a result of it was the primary MCU film to essentially embrace the theatricality of its comic-book supply materials. While the primary three movies (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Iron Man 2) had been all set on Earth and centered round science and expertise, Thor was straight-up fantasy filmmaking with an (on the time) unknown actor within the main function.
Thor opened in May 2011, just some months earlier than Captain America, and it grossed $65.7 million in its debut, simply $700,000 greater than Cap would later that summer season. Thor simply barely topped Cap on the home field workplace because it pulled in $181 million in North America, however due to a robust abroad efficiency, it managed to herald an general whole of $449 million.
3 Iron Man – $585,171,547
The movie that began all of it, 2008’s Iron Man, was additionally some of the profitable entries within the MCU’s Phase One. It opened to $102 million in its opening weekend domestically, which is greater than $30 million increased than all of the earlier entries on this listing. It went on to gross $318 million in North America, the place it ended up being the second highest-grossing film of the 12 months, solely behind The Dark Knight.
Globally, Iron Man introduced in a complete gross of $585 million, which positioned it at #8 on the listing of 2008’s highest-grossing films worldwide. On a funds of $186 million, the movie was a large gamble for the newly established Marvel Studios. Obviously, that gamble has paid off splendidly for the studio, each on the time and within the decade-and-a-half since.
2 Iron Man 2 – $621,156,389
Building on the success of the primary Iron Man, Iron Man 2 opened in May 2010 with a gap weekend haul of $128 million in North America. For context, that’s greater than the 2 most up-to-date MCU movies, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. It went on to herald $312 million domestically and gross a worldwide whole of $621 million.
It was the third highest-grossing film of the 12 months in North America (behind Alice in Wonderland and Toy Story 3), and worldwide it took the #7 spot on that listing. The essential reception to Iron Man 2 wasn’t practically as constructive because it had been for the primary movie, however the energy of the field workplace confirmed that the MCU was starting to develop a devoted viewers.
1 The Avengers – $1,515,100,211
Finally, the highest-grossing film of the MCU’s Phase One was simply 2012’s The Avengers. The first-of-its-kind superhero team-up movie was the end result of the earlier 5 movies, and it was a large cultural phenomenon when it hit theaters. The film opened to a whopping $207 million domestically, the place it went on to herald $623 million. That’s proper, The Avengers grossed greater than Iron Man 2’s whole theatrical run in North America alone. The ensemble movie went on to herald $891 million from abroad markets, which introduced its general field workplace gross to $1.5 billion. Having made $900 million greater than Iron Man 2, The Avengers was simply the highest-grossing film of 2012 each domestically and globally.
At the time, it grew to become the third highest-grossing movie of all time, solely behind Titanic and Avatar. The success of the movie can’t be overstated. It was the primary occasion the place the utter dominance of the MCU was on full show. Even right this moment, 11 years and 26 MCU movies later, The Avengers nonetheless holds up because the fourth highest-grossing entry within the franchise and the tenth highest-grossing movie of all time.