Marvel’s 2025 Box Office Proves That The MCU Has Fallen From Grace

For nearly a decade, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been the undisputed king of everything at the box office. From the beginning in 2008, when “Iron Man” was an unexpected smash hit, to the incredibly high $2.79 billion success of “Avengers: Endgame,” it’s been an amazing run. To date, the franchise has generated more than $32 billion in ticket sales globally. Unfortunately for Disney and Marvel Studios, these numbers have risen more slowly in recent years, with hits harder to come by. The year 2025 is not now if not evidence of the MCU’s fall from grace.

“Zootopia 2” recently grossed an impressive $559.5 million in a global opening over Thanksgiving. With this, after just a few days, it has managed to climb into the list of the ten highest-grossing films worldwide of 2025. In doing so, it has knocked Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps ($521.8 million) off the list completely. James Gunn’s “Superman” ($616.6 million) is now the only superhero film in the year’s top 10.

Setting aside 2020 when The New Mutants ($49.1 million worldwide) was the only Marvel film released in a year crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic, this is the first time since 2011 that Marvel Studios won’t have at least one film in the global top 10. Only Thor ($449.3 million) and Captain America: The First Avenger ($370.5 million) saw 2011. Million) was released in the lead-up to “The Avengers” in 2012.

But 2012 marked the point of no return, as “The Avengers” grossed a record $1.51 billion, a game-changing success. From that moment on, it seemed as if Kevin Feige and those in charge at Marvel Studios could do no wrong. Then everything started to change.

In 2019, Disney became the first studio in history to gross $10 billion at the box office. That’s been helped in large part by the MCU, with both “Avengers: Endgame” ($2.79 billion) and “Captain Marvel” ($1.12 billion) doing huge business. Although it was released by Sony, Spider-Man: Far From Home ($1.13 billion) was also a huge smash for the MCU. This means $5 billion in one year.

Things even looked promising in 2021 when “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” made $432.2 million, when very few films have made any money. “Black Widow” ($379.7 million) was hampered by its online release. When Spider-Man: No Way Home grossed a staggering $1.9 billion later that year, it looked like the MCU was truly back. The hardest truth is that the film has become a real event that unites three generations of fans. Overall, audience habits have changed, and the Marvel logo alone is no longer a spontaneous must-see event.

2022 was the latest year for the MCU’s undeniable dominance, with “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” ($955 million worldwide), “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” ($859.2 million) and “Thor: Love and Thunder” ($760.9 million) in the top 10 worldwide. More importantly, films like “Love and Thunder” couldn’t compete, in terms of perceived quality, with films like “Thor: Ragnarok.” The masses began to shift.

At the same time, the MCU has begun releasing shows like “WandaVision” and “Loki” on Disney+. The idea that “it’s all interconnected” has become a liability rather than an asset. People had a lot to see. It’s starting to feel like homework. The mainstream audience began to step back, picking and choosing what to deal with.

It’s not the must-see cinema anymore. 2023 showed cracks in the armor. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” ($845.5 million) was a hit, but it served as another sequel and the end of the trilogy. Meanwhile, The Marvels became the lowest-grossing film in MCU history, taking in just $206.1 million. disaster. It makes “Eternals” making just over $400 million in 2021 look impressive by comparison. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” was also a huge disappointment with revenues of $476 million.

Deadpool & Wolverine will gross $1.3 billion in 2024, becoming the biggest R-rated film of all time. But again, it’s a sequel that relies on nostalgia rather than Marvel launching a new series. To that end, the MCU hasn’t created a truly new franchise since “Endgame” arrived. “Shang-Chi” has yet to get a sequel. “Eternals” is over before it really begins. Here lies the problem.

Chris Hemsworth won’t be playing Thor forever. The actors who made the MCU what it once was are slowly moving on to other things. Robert Downey Jr. will apparently be returning to play Doctor Doom in “Avengers: Doomsday” next year. It’s an attempt to capture that former glory leading up to “Avengers: Secret Wars” in 2027, which will conclude the multiverse saga.

But this saga is coming to an end. 2025 saw Captain America: Brave New World ($415.1 million) and Thunderbolts ($382.4 million) fall well short of expectations. Knowing that the movie “Thunderbolts” received very good reviews. The MCU has fallen from grace. There’s no two ways about it. The bigger question is: Can Marvel regain its place at the top of the pop culture hierarchy? Or are those days really a thing of the past? We’ll see.

“Avengers: Doomsday” will hit theaters on December 18, 2026.