Our list below shows how much money every Marvel movie has made. Total Marvel box office earnings total over $21 billion dollars.
Captain America: Civil War made an excellent showing with $1.14 billion worldwide. That puts it as the #4 Marvel movie for money by 6/29/16. Other standouts include Marvel’s The Avengers with over $1.5 billion in ticket sales, Iron Man 3 and Avengers: Age of Ultron with well over $1 billion each.
We list worldwide box office earnings for each movie below. For a breakdown between domestic and worldwide money earned per movie, plus totals of each, see the complete Marvel movie money table by scrolling down.
Bear in mind that the figures below represent box office earnings only. They don’t include DVD, Blu-Ray or streaming sales and rentals. We’ve provided extra details on Marvel’s top 21 money earners below, to give you a complete picture of the forces at work behind Marvel movie income.
Either way, the Marvel money story is far from over, with 14 big budget Marvel movies on deck to release between now and 2021.
1. Marvel’s The Avengers: $1,518,594,910
At least part of the movie’s success may be due to the high level of tension in the characters. Director Joss Whedon said, “These people shouldn’t even be in the same room let alone on the same team – and that is the definition of family.”
2. Avengers: Age of Ultron: $1,398,858,115
During filming, Scarlett Johansson was pregnant, requiring her to have three stunt doubles on set at all time. The doubles looked so much like Johansson that Chris Evans reported getting in conversations with them before realizing they weren’t her.
3. Iron Man 3: $1,215,439,994
The movie originally had a budget of $140 million, but Marvel Studios added another $60 million after the huge success of The Avengers.
4. Captain America: Civil War: $1,147,698,026
A big overseas opening and the #5 movie opening of all time put Civil War at #4 on our Marvel money list. The movie beat Thor’s entire box office take in just one weekend. Civil War has a 90% fresh rating on critic site Rotten Tomatoes and is also a huge hit with fans. The movie bested Batman v Superman’s $875 million worldwide gross. That money would put Batman at #6 on the Marvel list. While Batman had a killer opening weekend, it also had a supersized drop of 69% the second weekend. Civil War has a slim chance to unseat #3 film Iron Man 3 with $1.22 billion.
5. Spider Man 3: $890,871,626
In the movie, all of Kirsten Dunst’s screams were taken from Spider Man 2. Thomas Hayden Church broke three knuckles punching a brick wall that the effects crew had told him was fake.
Here’s How Much Money All 42 Marvel Movies Made:
The table below shows the worldwide and domestic box office earnings for all 37 Marvel movies. The total adds up to well over $19 billion in Marvel movie income and doesn’t include worldwide DVD, Blu-Ray and streaming sales and rentals.
See below the table for continued breakdowns of each Marvel movie’s earnings. Note that although Marvel got at least some money from every movie below, in cases where another studio made more money from Marvel we’ve listed that company as the main producer.
All Marvel Movies Ranked by Money | ||||
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Marvel Movie Rank | Produced By | Marvel Movie | Worldwide Theater Earnings | Domestic Theater Earnings |
1 | Marvel Studios | Marvel's The Avengers | $1,518,594,910 | $623,357,910 |
2 | Marvel Studios | Avengers: Age of Ultron | $1,398,858,115 | $457,358,115 |
3 | Marvel Studios | Iron Man 3 | $1,215,439,994 | $409,013,994 |
4 | Marvel Studios | Captain America: Civil War | $1,147,698,026 | $401,946,213 |
5 | Columbia Pictures | Spider Man 3 | $890,871,626 | $404,040,954 |
6 | Marvel Enterprises | Spider Man | $821,708,551 | $403,706,375 |
7 | Marvel Entertainment | Spider Man 2 | $783,766,341 | $373,585,825 |
8 | 20th Century Fox and Marvel Entertainment | Deadpool | $778,618,148 | $363,071,095 |
9 | Marvel Studios | Guardians of the Galaxy | $774,176,600 | $333,176,600 |
10 | Columbia Pictures | The Amazing Spider-Man | $757,930,663 | $262,030,663 |
11 | 20th Century Fox | X-Men: Days of Future Past | $748,121,534 | $233,921,534 |
12 | Marvel Studios | Captain America: The Winter Soldier | $714,766,572 | $259,766,572 |
13 | Columbia Pictures | The Amazing Spider-Man 2 | $708,982,323 | $202,853,933 |
14 | Marvel Studios | Doctor Strange | $652,887,055 | $226,087,055 |
15 | Walt Disney Pictures | Big Hero 6 | $652,105,443 | $222,505,443 |
16 | Marvel Studios | Thor: The Dark World | $644,783,140 | $206,362,140 |
17 | Marvel Studios | Iron Man 2 | $623,933,331 | $312,433,331 |
18 | Marvel Studios | Iron Man | $585,174,222 | $318,412,101 |
19 | Marvel Entertainment | X-Men: Apocalypse | $524,089,004 | $151,480,912 |
21 | Marvel Entertainment | X-Men: The Last Stand | $459,359,555 | $234,362,462 |
22 | Marvel Studios | Thor | $449,326,618 | $181,030,624 |
23 | 20th Century Fox | The Wolverine | $414,828,246 | $132,556,852 |
24 | 20th Century Fox | X2: X-Men United | $407,711,549 | $214,949,694 |
25 | 20th Century Fox | X-Men Origins: Wolverine | $373,062,864 | $179,883,157 |
26 | Marvel Studios | Captain America: The First Avenger | $370,569,774 | $176,654,505 |
27 | Bad Hat Harry Productions | X-Men: First Class | $353,624,124 | $146,408,305 |
28 | Constantin Film | Fantastic Four (2005) | $330,579,719 | $154,696,080 |
20 | Marvel Studios | Ant Man | $518,585,201 | $180,157,872 |
29 | 20th Century Fox | X-Men | $296,339,527 | $157,299,717 |
30 | Marvel Entertainment | Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer | $289,047,763 | $131,921,738 |
31 | Marvel Studios | The Incredible Hulk | $263,427,551 | $134,806,913 |
32 | Universal Pictures | Hulk | $245,360,480 | $132,177,234 |
33 | Crystal Sky Pictures | Ghost Rider | $228,738,393 | $115,802,596 |
34 | Regency Enterprises | Daredevil | $179,179,718 | $102,543,518 |
35 | Marvel Studios | Fantastic Four (2015) | $167,977,597 | $56,117,547 |
36 | Marvel Enterprises | Blade II | $155,010,032 | $82,348,319 |
37 | Marvel Entertainment | Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance | $132,563,930 | $51,774,002 |
38 | Marvel Enterprises | Blade | $131,183,530 | $70,087,718 |
39 | New Line Cinema | Blade: Trinity | $128,905,366 | $52,411,906 |
40 | Marvel Enterprises | Elektra | $56,681,566 | $24,409,722 |
41 | New World Pictures | The Punisher | $54,700,105 | $33,810,189 |
42 | Lucasfilm | Howard the Duck | $37,962,774 | $16,295,774 |
43 | Valhalla Motion Pictures | Punisher: War Zone | $10,100,036 | $8,050,977 |
Totals | $21,997,331,616 | $8,935,668,186 |
6. Spider Man: $821,708,551
In the movie’s famous upside-down kissing scene, the crew had to stop filming several times because Tobey Maguire’s sinuses kept filling with water.
7. Spider Man 2: $783,766,341
8. Deadpool: $778,618,148
Deadpool made $778 million worldwide and $363 million domestically. It’s also #8 on our Marvel movies money list. The Marvel black comedy comic movie made an astounding opening. A huge part of its early success was probably thanks to the way it reinvented the superhero movie. Deadpool doesn’t have an “or else the world will end” type of plot. That’s new. It also doesn’t take itself seriously. It’s also very raunchy. It’s possible fans are reacting to the differences and freshness of the film. It’s also possible they’re parting with the money because it’s just a kickass Marvel movie.
9. Guardians of the Galaxy: $774,176,600
When actor Dave Bautista learned he’d got the part of Drax the Destroyer, he burst into tears, then signed up for acting lessons so he’d be able to do his best work on the role.
10. The Amazing Spider Man: $757,930,663
The film’s star Andrew Garfield reported shedding tears when he first tried on the Spider Man costume.
11. X-Men: Days of Future Past: $748,121,534
When Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine character travels back in time to 1973, he was originally scripted to wear boxer shorts in bed. He insisted on being filmed nude, reasoning that nobody waking up next to a good looking woman would be wearing anything.
12. Captain America: The Winter Soldier: $714,766,572
In the movie, Nick Fury says his grandfather was an elevator operator. Actor Samuel L. Jackson’s father operated an elevator in real life.
13. The Amazing Spider Man 2: $708,982,323
Emma Stone wrote her character’s graduation speech herself. In the movie, Stone is shown walking a dog. She and real-life significant other Andrew Garfield later adopted the dog.
14. Doctor Strange: $652,887,055
Entering the half billion and up club, Doctor Strange comes in at #14. The Marvel movie has made more money than most other Marvel’s films, outdoing Thor and Captain America. To date the movie has earned $652 million worldwide and $226 million in the US. With a budget of $165 million, it’s not the most expensive of the Marvel canon. It marks the largest IMAX opening on record with a worldwide total of over $24 million.
With a 90% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie is a fan favorite, though some critics have complained of a generic origin story plot. Benedict Cumberbatch initially had to turn the lead role down because of a prior commitment. He was slated to appear in a stage production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
15. Big Hero 6: $652,105,443
The movements of the movie’s hero Baymax were created by modeling the motions of a baby who had a full diaper.
16: Thor: The Dark World: $644,783,140
It took Natalie Portman 30 tries to slap Chris Hemsworth in one scene because she didn’t want to hurt him. By contrast, the star only needed five takes to punch Tom Hiddleston.
17: Iron Man 2: $623,933,331
Much of the Whiplash character was created by actor Mickey Rourke. He even paid for the character’s pet cockatoo and gold teeth with his own money.
18. Iron Man: $585,174,222
The movie kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Movie Universe franchise. The dialogue was mostly ad-libbed.
19. X-Men: Apocalypse: $524,089,004
X-Men: Apocalypse is #19 on the list of all Marvel movies, ranked by money. The movie wasn’t made by Marvel Studios, but instead by Marvel Entertainment, Marvel’s wing for movies that get made by other production companies (in this case 20th Century Fox). It’s not a huge hit with critics, getting only a 48% on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. It does slightly better with fans, getting a 74% fresh rating, but the movie doesn’t look destined to be a high-end Marvel money maker.
20. Ant Man: $518,585,201
Actor Paul Rudd is rumored to have purchased a gigantic ant farm as part of his research for the role. Rudd found the experience so inspiring that he kept the ant farm after the film’s release. Another part of Rudd’s preparation for the movie was weight training. Apparently he did so well at it they had to specially tailor his Ant Man suit to make him look less muscular than he was.
21. X-Men: The Last Stand: $459,359,555
Halle Berry’s wire flying stunts made her so sick during filming that she vomited. The crew had to have buckets ready before filming subsequent fight scenes.
22. Thor: $449,326,618
The movie was well received critically. According to film site IMDB, when Anthony Hopkins first saw Chris Hemsworth in costume, he said, “God, there’s no acting required here is there?”
23. The Wolverine: $414,828,246
With $132 million in North America, The Wolverine made less money than any other film in the X-Men franchise domestically. In foreign markets however, it pulled in $282 million, a significantly larger take than any other X-Men movie.
24. X-2: X Men United: $407,711,549
Most of the frozen people in the movie were portrayed by mimes. In the movie a cat licks Wolverine’s claws. The cat was enticed to lick the claws by putting frozen tea on them.
25. X-Men Origins: Wolverine: $373,062,864
Hugh Jackman helped write the movie’s script. At one point during filming, Will.i.am punched a camera by accident, scarring his knuckles.
26. Captain America: The First Avenger: $370,569,774
Chris Evans turned down the lead role three times before he accepted it. His reasoning was that the resulting fame would ruin his private life. Robert Downey Junior talked Evans into taking the part, arguing it would give him the freedom to take on any role he wanted in the future.
Marvel’s Box Office Bomb
The film gets a 10% score on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes for being dull and misguided and lacking joy, humor and thrills.
Marvel Movie Money into the Future
There are 12 Marvel movies scheduled to hit the theaters by 2021. They include:
- Doctor Strange (11/4/2016)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (5/5/2017)
- Spider Man Homecoming (7/28/2017)
- Thor: Ragnarok (11/3/2017)
- Black Panther (2/16/2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (5/4/2018)
- Ant Man and the Wasp (7/6/2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 (5/3/2019)
- Captain Marvel (3/8/2019)
- Inhumans (7/12/2019)
- Untitled Marvel Movie #1 (5/1/2020)
- Untitled Marvel Movie #2 (7/10/2020)
- Untitled Marvel Movie #3 (11/6/2020)
If each of those movies brings in the average worldwide take for a Marvel film, that’ll boost Marvel’s total earnings to $25 billion by 2020.
Will Marvel be able to keep its spot as king of the comic money movies? It’s hard to say. With powerhouse writer/director Joss Whedon on the way out and new entries in the Star Wars franchise hitting theaters in December, Marvel has its work cut out for it. Then again, since both Marvel and Star Wars are owned by Disney, the coming battle may just be the mighty Mouse arm wrestling himself.
Also see: How Much Money Has Every Star Wars Movie Made?
Sources
BoxOfficeMojo.com
IMDB.com