Bad guys aren’t the only thing the superheroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are smashing. They’re routinely doing it to box office records, too.
The MCU dominated the global and domestic box office over the last twenty years with their massive production budgets and dedicated fan base. Most of the MCU films have been major successes while others haven’t been quite as well-received (looking at you, The Marvels), but nearly all have been
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Every MCU Movie, Ranked by Worldwide Box Office Performance
Unsurprisingly, the Avengers and Spider-Man movies dominate the top of the worldwide gross box office performance rankings for MCU movies.
The Avengers films, especially Infinity War and its immediate sequel Endgame, were the top two films by box office gross. Those films pulled together all of the characters introduced in the films over the prior decade, like Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, The Hulk, Thor and Thanos, and concluded the overarching plot of most of those movies. Peter Parker/Spider-Man remains one of Marvel’s most popular superheroes, which explains the Spider-Man movies’ presence above even other popular heroes’ entries.
Here are the full rankings of MCU movies based on their worldwide box office gross earnings.
| Rank | Movie | Worldwide Gross |
| 1 | Avengers: Endgame | $2,717,503,922 |
| 2 | Avengers: Infinity War | $2,048,158,241 |
| 3 | Spider-Man: No Way Home | $1,921,206,586 |
| 4 | Spider-Man: Brand New Day | $1,665,089,000 |
| 5 | The Avengers | $1,515,100,211 |
| 6 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | $1,395,316,979 |
| 7 | Deadpool & Wolverine | $1,338,073,645 |
| 8 | Black Panther | $1,334,157,082 |
| 9 | Iron Man 3 | $1,214,630,956 |
| 10 | Captain America: Civil War | $1,151,899,586 |
| 11 | Spider-Man: Far From Home | $1,132,298,674 |
| 12 | Captain Marvel | $1,129,576,094 |
| 13 | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness | $955,775,804 |
| 14 | Spider-Man: Homecoming | $878,852,749 |
| 15 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 | $869,087,963 |
| 16 | Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | $859,208,836 |
| 17 | Thor: Ragnarok | $850,482,778 |
| 18 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 | $845,555,777 |
| 19 | Guardians of the Galaxy | $770,882,395 |
| 20 | Thor: Love and Thunder | $760,928,081 |
| 21 | Captain America: The Winter Soldier | $714,401,889 |
| 22 | Doctor Strange | $676,343,174 |
| 23 | Thor: The Dark World | $644,602,516 |
| 24 | Ant-Man and the Wasp | $623,144,660 |
| 25 | Iron Man 2 | $621,156,389 |
| 26 | Iron Man | $584,877,827 |
| 27 | Fantastic Four: First Steps | $521,858,728 |
| 28 | Ant-Man | $518,858,449 |
| 29 | Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania | $476,071,180 |
| 30 | Thor | $449,326,618 |
| 31 | Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | $432,233,010 |
| 32 | Captain America: Brave New World | $415,101,577 |
| 33 | Eternals | $402,064,929 |
| 34 | Thunderbolts* | $382,436,917 |
| 35 | Black Widow | $379,751,131 |
| 36 | Captain America: The First Avenger | $370,569,776 |
| 37 | The Incredible Hulk | $265,573,859 |
| 38 | The Marvels | $206,136,825 |
1. ‘Avengers: Endgame’
Worldwide box office: $2,717,503,922
With half of Earth’s population gone and the universe in ruins, the surviving Avengers reunite to undo Thanos’ actions. They embark on a time travel heist to gather the Infinity Stones before Thanos can. The culmination of more than a decade of stories, Avengers: Endgame closes the book on the MCU storylines of several founding Avengers. At least for now.
Ten years of narrative investment converged into a single release, and audiences turned out in numbers no marketing campaign could have manufactured on its own.
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2. ‘Avengers: Infinity War’
Worldwide box office: $2,048,158,241
Earth’s greatest heroes assemble on an urgent mission to stop Thanos from collecting all the Infinity Stones. The film brings together nearly every major hero introduced up to that point for part one of a two-part story.
The pull of an unprecedented ensemble, paired with a gut-punch ending that sent people back for a second and third viewing, made this one of the rare sequels that outgrossed its predecessor.
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3. ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’
Worldwide box office: 1,921,206,586
When a spell to hide his secret identity goes wrong, Peter Parker seeks the help of Doctor Strange to fix the damage. Instead the mistake tears open the multiverse, pulling in heroes and villains from other Spider-Man realities. Peter is forced to decide how to handle these dangerous visitors while grappling with what it truly means to be Spider-Man. The film became a landmark crossover event, uniting decades of Spider-Man film history.
Three eras of Spider-Man converging on one screen proved to be the multiverse hook the box office had been waiting for, turning a sequel into a cultural event.
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4. ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’
Worldwide box office: $1,665,089,000
The latest installment in the MCU, Spider-Man: Brand New Day finds Peter Parker forgotten by the world and even his friends. The stress of a crumbled support system on top of the constant pressure of his double life triggers a dangerous transformation as a powerful new enemy begins to emerge in New York.
5. ‘The Avengers’
Worldwide box office: $1,515,100,211
Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye join together on screen for the first time. Called together after Thor’s brother Loki launches an alien invasion aimed at enslaving humanity, the films is one of the most pivotal chapters in the MCU. There was simply nothing to compare it to; the spectacle of seeing this many heroes share a frame for the first time was the entire pitch, and it worked.
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6. ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’
Worldwide box office: $1,395,316,979
Tony Stark and Bruce Banner’s attempt to launch an artificial peacekeeping program backfires when it becomes self-aware and decides humanity is the problem that must be destroyed. The Avengers must reassemble to stop Ultron before his all-too-modern-evil plan can be carried out. Reviews cooled on its overstuffed plot, but the Avengers name alone was still strong enough currency to carry it to a massive opening.
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7. ‘Deadpool & Wolverine‘
Worldwide box office: $1,338,073,645
In a meta-twist, Deadpool is offered a spot in the wider Marvel universe. He recruits a battered variant of Wolverine to help him save his own reality from being erased. The film shatters the fourth-wall with references to prior X-Men and Deadpool films.
Reuniting Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman under Marvel’s banner, with the freedom of an R rating, was a wildly popular entry in the MCU.
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8. ‘Black Panther’
Worldwide box office: $1,334,157,082
After his father’s death, T’Challa returns home to take the throne of Wakanda. His rule is soon challenged by a long-lost cousin, Killmonger, who has his own claim to the throne and a very different vision for the nation’s future. Black Panther transcended the usual superhero conversation entirely and became a cultural touchstone.
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9. ‘Iron Man 3’
Worldwide box office: $1,214,630,956
Shaken by the events of The Avengers, Tony Stark struggles with anxiety as he faces a mysterious terrorist known as the Mandarin. After his home and support system are destroyed, Stark is forced to rebuild both them both. Arriving on the heels of The Avengers, it inherited a wave of goodwill that few sequels get to enjoy.
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10. ‘Captain America: Civil War’
Worldwide box office: $1,151,899,586
A push for government oversight of the Avengers splits the team into two opposing factions with Captain America and Iron Man on rival sides. The conflict escalates as old secrets and a hidden mastermind further widen the rift between former allies. Another major chapter in the MCU, the film introduces its Spider-Man and T’Challa as Black Panther. With nearly the entire roster in play, this played less like a Captain America sequel and more like the Avengers follow-up fans were craving.
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11. ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’
Worldwide box office: $1,132,298,674
After the events of Avengers: Endgame, Peter is hoping for a normal summer trip through Europe. Instead, gets swept into a battle against elemental creatures with the aptly named hero Mysterio, who turned out to be nothing that he seemed at first. Peter juggles teenage romance and world-saving-responsibilities. Marketed as the emotional follow-up to Endgame, it benefited from audiences who were not quite ready to leave that story, or Tony Stark, behind.
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12. ‘Captain Marvel’
Worldwide box office: $1,129,576,094
Caught in the middle of a war between two alien races, Carol Danvers crash-lands on Earth with no memory. As she pieces together fragments of her identity, she uncovers her origins as U.S. Air Force pilot. Aided by a much younger Nick Fury, the film is set largely in the 1990s and helped meaningfully expand the MCU’s timeline into the past for the first time. A respectable debut, though a wave of pre-release review-bombing controversy blunted some of its momentum before it even opened.
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13. ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’
Worldwide box office: $955,775,804
Doctor Strange partners with a teenager who can travel between realities to escape villains chasing her for her rare ability. Their partnership unleashes multiversal chaos Strange must fight evil, alternate versions of himself across the multiverse. On their journey, they team up with Wanda Maximoff who will do whatever necessary to find her lost children.
Reviews were middling, but post-pandemic pent-up demand and Elizabeth Olsen’s magnetic reprisal of Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch carried it regardless.
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14. ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’
Worldwide box office: $878,852,749
Homecoming marks the first standalone film with Tom Holland as Spidey after being introduced in Captain America: Civil War. It finds Peter Parker balancing high school life with his dual life as Spider-Man which leads him into the threat that is arms dealer Adrian Toomes, known as the Vulture.
A lighter, younger take on the character landed well with audiences still recovering from franchise fatigue after the Amazing Spider-Man era.
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15. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2’
Worldwide box office: $869,087,963
The Guardians deal with tension in the group as they try to protect Young Groot. At the center of the story is Star-Lord’s long-awaited reunion with his father, the celestial being Ego. The film rode on the goodwill and soundtrack buzz the original had built from nothing.
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16. ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’
Worldwide box office: $859,208,836
Wakanda’s leaders defend their nation from outside world powers while mourning the death of their king, T’Challa. As global interest in Wakanda’s resources intensifies, a new threat emerges from the underwater nation of Talokan, led by the powerful Namor. Princess Shuri is forced to assume the role of the Wakanda’s protector. The emotional weight of honoring the late Chadwick Boseman’s legacy drew audiences well beyond what a standard sequel could expect.
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17. ‘Thor: Ragnarok’
Worldwide box office: $850,482,778
Imprisoned as a gladiator on the garbage planet of the Grandmaster, Thor must escape a deadly gladiator battle in order to fight a more personal war. Back home, his sister Hela has seized power and set out to destroy Asgard. Taika Waititi’s comedic overhaul breathed new life into a character whose franchise had gone a bit stale after The Dark World and led directly into Endgame.
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18. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3’
Worldwide box office: $845,555,777
When Rocket is gravely injured, the Guardians must search for a way to save him while confronting the painful world that shaped him. That search uncovers disturbing truths about the villainous High Evolutionary. The team faces its biggest threats yet and the film closes out the original Guardians trilogy with satisfying finality. A nostalgic, well-reviewed send-off, though a softer post-pandemic theatrical market kept it from matching its predecessors.
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19. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’
Worldwide box office: 770,882,395
A band of misfit criminals is forced to work together when they all get entangled in the hunt for an all-powerful weapon. Facing increasingly dire threats, the group slowly becomes a dysfunctional but devoted family.
Guardians of the Galaxy was the definitive sleeper hit of the MCU. Modest expectations at release were upended by sharp marketing and a dialed-in soundtrack that became a cultural moment in its own right.
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20. ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’
Worldwide box office: $760,928,081
Thor teams up with Valkyrie, Korg and his ex-girlfriend Jane Foster, who has taken up his hammer as the new Mighty Thor. Together they set out to stop Gorr the God Butcher, a grief-stricken villain determined to wipe out every god in existence. A strong opening gave way to a steep drop once word got out about its jarring tonal shifts and over-the-top comedic approach.
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21. ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’
Worldwide box office: $714,401,889
Steve Rogers uncovers a dangerous conspiracy operating from within the spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. As he digs deeper, he learns the organization has been infiltrated an old adversary. Rogers is forced to a battle against a deadly assassin: his long-lost best friend, Bucky Barnes. Critics embraced its ambitions as a sharp political thriller, elevating Bucky, a character who hadn’t previously distinguished himself, to fan-favorite and making him a regular fixture in the MCU.
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22. ‘Doctor Strange’
Worldwide box office: $676,343,174
Steven Strange, one of the world’s most brilliant (and arrogant) surgeons seeks healing after a car crash leaves his hands permanently damaged. His search leads him to the mystic arts and the tutelage of Ancient One. The film introduces the MCU to the mystic powers of the world as Strange masters new abilities to fight off the dimension-devouring entity Dormammu. Visually inventive and set in an unexplored corner of the MCU, it made for one of the studio’s stronger solo debuts.
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23. ‘Thor: The Dark World’
Worldwide box office: $644,602,516
Thor must protect the Nine Realms from the Dark Elves who have surfaced after centuries in hiding. Their leader seeks a powerful weapon known as the Aether, which has become bound to the body of Jane Foster. Thor races to save Jane and stop their plan and reluctantly turns to his brother Loki to help him. The Dark World was never able to fully overcome its poor reviews, and remains one of the most forgettable entries in the MCU to date.
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24. ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’
Worldwide box office: $623,144,660
Scott Lang teams up with Hope van Dyne and her father on an urgent rescue mission into the Quantum Realm. Their efforts reveal a volatile enemy known as Ghost who is all to eager to learn more about the family technology. A dependable sequel, though its intentionally smaller-scale story limited how far it could travel.
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25. ‘Iron Man 2’
Worldwide box office: $621,156,389
With his identity as Iron Man now public, Tony Stark battles declining health and mounting political pressure. A vengeful Russian scientist with ties to his father’s legacy builds a rival suit of armor, setting up a dangerous confrontation. Another early seed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the film introduces Black Widow and the role of S.H.I.E.L.D. Mixed reviews barely dented Iron Man 2‘s momentum and the character’s newfound star power did the heavy lifting.
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26. ‘Iron Man’
Worldwide box office: $584,877,827
The very first MCU entry, Iron Man introduces audiences to Tony Stark. After being captured overseas on a weapons presentation, he builds a suit of technologically advanced armor to escape captivity. Once free, he uses the technology to take on the same weapons that jeopardized his life and built his family’s fortune.
Iron Man turned a mostly B-list superhero in a surprise smash hit, thanks largely to Robert Downey Jr.’s iconic performance in the role.
27. ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’
Worldwide box office: $521,858,728
The first official MCU entry in the Fantastic Four universe, Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm balance their roles as a family and their duties as global heroes. They’re put to the test against one of Marvel’s great villains: Galactus, a planet-devouring entity.
First Steps was a well-received reboot with a solid opening but lacked a crossover hook to supercharge it until the very last minutes of screentime.
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28. ‘Ant-Man’
Worldwide box office: $518,858,449
Master thief Scott Lang is recruited by a scientist to test out a superhero suit that gives him the ability to shrink in size while increasing in strength. He is recruited for a high-stakes heist meant to protect groundbreaking technology from falling into the wrong hands. A smaller heist premise got lost in the shuffle of a stacked 2015 slate.
29. ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’
Worldwide box office: $476,071,180
Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne are pulled into the Quantum Realm along with Hope’s parents and Scott’s daughter Cassie. Trapped in this strange world and desperate for an escape, the family uncovers deep secrets about Hope’s mother and find a mysterious figure known as Kang the Conqueror.
Weak reviews of its central villain as an intended successor to Thanos, coupled with mounting superhero fatigue in the press, dragged down what should have been a routine sequel.
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30. ‘Thor’
Worldwide box office: $449,326,618
Stripped of his power after proving himself unworthy, the Asgardian prince Thor is exiled to live among humans on Earth. Cut off from his home and forced to confront his own arrogance, he must grow into the hero his people need. The film introduces one of the most important figures in the MCU, but the character mostly lacked the inherent pop culture recognition of Iron Man or Captain America, despite his crucial role in the MCU in later films.
31. ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’
Worldwide box office: $432,233,010
A martial arts master is drawn back into the secret organization run by his powerful father. Their reunion forces Shang-Chi to confront a past he has been trying to leave behind. He and his sister must stop their father from unlocking a dangerous gate tied to their family’s history. Reviews were strong, but a pandemic-era release put a firm cap on its box office ceiling.
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32. ‘Captain America: Brave New World’
Worldwide box office: $415,101,577
The new Captain America, Sam Wilson, gets caught in the middle of an international incident as soon as he assumes the shield. It eventually brings him into terrority not even Steve Rogers found himself in: at odds with the President of the United States. Reported reshoots and tepid critical reception softened what has historically been a reliable brand.
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33. ‘Eternals’
Worldwide box office: $402,064,929
A group of immortal beings who have secretly lived on Earth for thousands of years are forced out hiding after the reemergence of their ancient enemies, the Deviants. The Eternals are forced to reckon with the harm their inaction wreaked throughout human history. Poor reviews and an unfamiliar, sprawling ensemble made this one of the harder sells in the MCU catalog.
34. ‘Thunderbolts*’
Worldwide box office: $382,436,917
A group of antiheroes finds itself ensnared in a deadly trap set by an unknown government official. Forced to work together despite years of distrust, the team must confront the darkest corners of their pasts as they battle a threat that could destroy them all. Critics loved this one, but general franchise fatigue kept audiences from following their lead.
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35. ‘Black Widow’
Worldwide box office: $379,751,131
Natasha Romanoff reunites with her adopted family of spies to take down a conspiracy with ties directly to her past as a KGB-trained assassin. The mission brings long-buried secrets to the surface and forces Natasha to reckon with her past. The film introduces Natasha’s sister Yelena Belova, who would go on to play a larger role in future Marvel projects as a member of the Thunderbolts. A simultaneous Disney+ release siphoned off theatrical dollars at a moment when pandemic caution was still keeping some audiences home.
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36. ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’
Worldwide box office: $370,569,776
A meager but determined young man named Steve Rogers enlists in the army during World War II. After receiving an experimental super-soldier serum, he transforms into the superhero Captain America and leads a campaign against the Nazis. A period-set origin story with no team-up spectacle yet to inflate its numbers limited this one’s performance.
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37. ‘The Incredible Hulk’
Worldwide box office: $265,573,859
On the run from the U.S. government, Bruce Banner searches for a cure to the uncontrollable rage that transforms him into the Hulk. When a Russian operative undergoes an experimental procedure of his own to match Banner’s power, he must put his own desires aside for the good of humanity. A recast lead in The Avengers and no meaningful tie to Iron Man’s success left The Incredible Hulk as a bit of an orphan as the MCU began to ramp up from nothing.
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38. ‘The Marvels’
Worldwide box office: $206,136,825
Carol Danvers battle with the Kree empire soon finds her bonded with two other cosmic beings in different corners of the universe. The trio must team up to stop a vengeful Kree warrior determined to restore her homeland at any cost. The film serves as a quasi-sequel to Captain Marvel and the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel and WandaVision. Muddled marketing and unclear stakes made it the toughest sell in Marvel Studios’ history, and the box office reflected that.
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Upcoming Marvel Movies
After a brief reprieve, Marvel Studios is bringing back the original Avengers this December for Avengers: Doomsday and next year with Avengers: Secret Wars. These two films will blend multiple universes of Avengers as they face their biggest threats yet.
‘Avengers: Doomsday’ (Dec 15, 2026)
The biggest entry in the MCU since Avengers: Endgame, Doomsday will bring back some of the original Avengers with heroes from the new timelines to take on one of Marvel’s most powerful villains who looks oddly familiar.
‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ (Dec 14, 2027)
The plot is as secret as the title until Doomsday is released, but the film is meant to serve as a sequel.
‘Black Panther 3’ (Dec 15, 2028)
Little is known about the plot of Black Panther 3, including whether that is the official title. It will serve as a sequel to Wakanda Forever.
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