During the height of its popularity, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a must-see event. These movies were guaranteed to make hundreds of millions of dollars, and in the case of many, billions.

After the release of Endgame and the end of the Infinity War Saga, the MCU has struggled to dominate the box office as it once did. Unless you’re Spider-Man, that is.

Despite the fact that 2025 has seen several widely enjoyed MCU films (Thunderbolts*, Fantastic Four), they’re not the box office success stories they used to be. So with that in mind, we wanted to take a look at how every Marvel movie performed on a week-to-week basis after release.

To compile the list, we’ve used domestic weekend revenue from Box Office Mojo to determine which MCU films had the steepest weekend-to-weekend drop-offs, ranked from smallest to largest.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

39.4% drop after the first weekend

It’s not a surprise that No Way Home had the most impressive weekend-to-weekend performance, given what a major event it was.

Seeing all three live-action Spider-Man on screen at once is the best kind of nostalgia-driven entertainment, and having Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker finally get his moment was incredible to see.

Black Widow

41% drop after the first weekend

The standalone Black Widow film was long overdue, and combined with people excited to return to the movies after the COVID-19 pandemic, it had a strong performance.

IT may not have been as good as we were all hoping, but it helped pave the way for Thunderbolts* thanks to the performances of Florence Pugh and David Harbour.

Black Panther

44.7% drop after the first weekend

It shouldn’t be a surprise that the highest-grossing superhero movies of all time are the Avengers films and the previously mentioned Spider-Man: No Way Home.

After that, though? It’s Black Panther. Let me tell you: this film was an event that exceeded the hype.

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Thor

47.2% drop after the first weekend

Yes, that’s right. 2011’s Thor, regarded as one of the more average MCU films, had a steady weekend-to-weekend performance.

One possible reason? A general lack of interest compared to Iron Man. Don’t forget that while Iron Man was incredibly successful, the MCU wasn’t quite a money-printing machine just yet, until the release of The Avengers a year later.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

47.6% drop after the first weekend

The diamond in the rough that is the current state of the MCU.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 saw people come out in droves for James Gunn’s final MCU film. Then they kept coming back to theaters because, well, he’s very good at what he does. I’ll miss Gunn’s Guardians and hope that, if they return for Secret Wars, they’re still as much fun as they were over the years.

Iron Man

48.1% drop after the first weekend

The movie that started it all.

Before Iron Man, successful comic book adaptations were the exception, not the norm. That all changed in 2008, and at the time, we had no idea what we were in for with that post-credits scene with Nick Fury.

Doctor Strange

49.5% drop after the first weekend

As the MCU continued to expand, it would tap into some of the lesser-known characters that weren’t quite mainstream popular just yet.

Enter Doctor Strange, which introduces the masses to Dr. Stephen Strange. His first film is a textbook example of how successful the MCU was during its heyday. This isn’t the best Marvel movie (it’s not bad, just not as good as others), but it still easily made over $600 million.

The Avengers

50.3% drop after the first weekend

Billed as a once-in-a-lifetime event, The Avengers proved that these superhero team-up movies could work, not just as a film that’s critically praised, but one that audiences will flock to.

Spider-Man: Far From Home

51% drop after the first weekend

The final film of Marvel’s phase three, as well as the Infinity Saga, proves that Spider-Man doesn’t care about audience fatigue or trends.

People will flock to these movies, whether they feature three Peter Parkers or just one.

Thor: Ragnarok 

53.5% drop after the first weekend

It’s the good Thor movie! The one that cemented Chris Hemsworth as one of the best performers in the MCU!

And the one that, for better or worse, made Taika Waititi a household name!

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

54% drop after the first weekend

The biggest crime of the MCU is the fact that we still don’t have a sequel to Shang-Chi.

Its steady box office performance proves that, even as we dive deeper into Marvel’s catalogue in a post-Infinity Saga world, people will come out to see good movies.

Deadpool & Wolverine

54.2% drop after the first weekend

Yeah, this one was always going to do well at the box office.

Not only was it Deadpool’s MCU debut, but it was a chance to see Hugh Jackman as Wolverine one last time. Well, maybe one last time. Still, he wore the suit!

Guardians of the Galaxy

55.3% drop after the first weekend

Guardians of the Galaxy was the first real test to see how powerful the appeal of the MCU was.

Chris Pratt wasn’t exactly a household name just yet; he was the funny side character from Parks and Rec, and he was leading the movie about a team of, at best, C-level superheroes. Surprise, surprise, it was one of the biggest hits in all the MCU.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

55.5% drop after the first weekend

In my mind, this is the weakest of the Guardians movies, but it’s not bad!

Avengers: Infinity War

55.5% drop after the first weekend

Years in the making, every moment of the MCU led up to Infinity War, and it was well worth the wait.

This was the movie that had people not just coming back to see it again, but also caught people who weren’t invested from day one to see what they were missing.

Captain Marvel

55.7% drop after the first weekend

Remember that post-credits scene from Infinity War? Now it’s time for a standalone film!

Captain Marvel may test our patience as yet another origin story in a post-Infinity War world, but it’s entertaining and groundbreaking enough to have kept us coming back.

Thunderbolts*

56.4% drop after the first weekend

Thunderbolts* may very well be the starting point for the revival of the MCU’s popularity.

The days of every Marvel film printing money may be over, but it’s nice to see that positive word of mouth can go a long way, as many were expecting this to be a total box office flop.

Ant-Man

56.5% drop after the first weekend

It’s Paul Rudd playing a dude who gets super small.

Sadly, Edgar Wright wouldn’t end up directing the movie, but Ant-Man is still harmless fun, even if it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

56.6% drop after the first weekend

One of the biggest reasons why The Winter Soldier isn’t higher up on the list is that the first Captain America movie didn’t blow many people away.

Once the word got out, though, people caught on to what is, in the eyes of many, the best MCU film.

Thor: The Dark World

57.3% drop after the first weekend

I’m shocked that there’s not a bigger drop off here.

Before you say anything about its opening weekend performance, it still made over $85 million! Call it the Tom Hiddleston effect, I guess.

Iron Man 3

58.4% drop after the first weekend

The final Iron Man film has become a cult classic over the years that many argue was judged too harshly upon release.

It also had the unenviable task of following up The Avengers, even if it was released a full year later. Audiences needed a bit of a breather.

Avengers: Endgame

58.7% drop after the first weekend

Look, when you make a bajillion dollars opening weekend (I am exaggerating, obviously), there’s going to be a steady drop-off.

Following its mindblowing $360 million opening weekend performance, it dropped to “only” roughly $150 million the following weekend.

Iron Man 2

59.4% drop after the first weekend

It’s hard to believe that the third movie in the MCU is Iron Man 2, but it’s true!

Part of what helped Iron Man see steady performance from its first and second weekend was positive word of mouth about a successful Marvel film. The sequel, however, wasn’t as good; therefore, it had a bigger drop off.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

59.4% drop after the first weekend

Age of Ultron feels like the ugly duckling of the Avengers movies.

It’s not what we were building to with Infinity War and Endgame, while it’s also not the first film that proves such a movie can work. As a result, audiences enjoyed it, and it still made $1.4 billion, but it suffered the largest first weekend drop off of any Avengers film.

Captain America: Civil War

59.5% drop after the first weekend

Having said that, many people Civil War as a semi-Avengers movie.

On the one hand, it introduced us to Black Panther and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. On the other hand, audiences didn’t seem to be all too excited about going back to the box office after the first weekend.

The Incredible Hulk

60.1% drop after the first weekend

Did you forget about the Edward Norton Hulk movie?

Most people do, and I don’t blame them. Its box office performance was respectable, but nowhere near the success of Iron Man.

Captain America: The First Avenger

60.7% drop after the first weekend

As a huge fan of The First Avenger, this one hurts.

The film feels less like a successful mainstream Marvel movie and more like a comic book World War II period piece. Still a great film, though.

Ant-Man and the Wasp

61.6% drop after the first weekend

After the success of Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp served as a nice palette cleanser six weeks later on the July 4th weekend.

It didn’t have any direct competition, but with Infinity War in late April and Incredibles 2 in June, people had already had their fill of summer superhero movies.

Spider-Man: Homecoming 

62.2% drop after the first weekend

After the disappointment around The Amazing Spider-Man movies from Sony, it felt like the only people who headed to the theater for Homecoming were the die-hard fans.

Most, like myself, didn’t discover the greatness of this movie until it was available on streaming services.

Eternals 

62.3% drop after the first weekend

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that something as risky as The Eternals had an over 60% drop in box office performance.

With No Way Home on the horizon the following month, and people a little more aware of their budget in a post-COVID-19 world, it felt like people were saving their money for No Way Home.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

63.3% drop after the first weekend

Wakanda Forever is a good movie, but it’s not Black Panther good, nor is it as groundbreaking as the first one.

It’s the same issue as Age of Ultron and suffers as a result.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

67% drop after the first weekend

This one is just inexplicable to me.

The only real reason for Fantastic Four’s steep drop-off is direct competition from Superman, which, at the time of writing, has made $180 million more at the worldwide box office.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

67% drop after the first weekend

I can’t help but feel like all of the internet leaks ruined this movie.

Combined with the fact that people were wanting something different from Wanda’s story following WandaVision, and you have the right recipe for a box office disappointment.

Thor: Love and Thunder

67.7% drop after the first weekend

Remember all of that goodwill from Thor: Ragnarok? Yeah, it’s gone now.

This movie is a disjointed mess that audiences wanted nothing to do with.

Captain America: Brave New World

68.3% drop after the first weekend

Yes, the first weekend drop-off for Brave New World is staggering, but you also have to take into account that it enjoyed an extra day at the box office due to releasing on Presidents’ Day weekend.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

69.9% drop after the first weekend

If Thor: Ragnarok wasn’t the beginning of the end for the MCU’s box office dominance, then Quantumania was.

This is a disaster of a movie through and through that not only wastes the Kang character, but also serves as a warning shot that the MCU is not invincible.

The Marvels

78.1% drop after the first weekend

The problem with The Marvels is that you need to do so much research to understand the backstory.

You need to have seen Captain Marvel, Infinity War, and Endgame, understand the side character’s plot from WandaVision, and have seen Ms. Marvel.

This is where people said “I’m not doing homework to see a movie.”

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