Skip to main content

The MCU is now the first film franchise to gross $30 billion

The MCU has been hugely profitable for Disney.

The cast of Avengers: Endgame.
Marvel Studios / Marvel Studios

In addition to surpassing box office milestones all on its own, Deadpool & Wolverine has also propelled the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to a new box office achievement. The MCU is now the first film franchise to gross $30 billion at the worldwide box office, and the achievement was announced during Marvel’s Hall H presentation at Comic-Con over the weekend.

Of course, part of the reason for the MCU’s remarkable box office success is that the studio has put out 34 films over the course of 15 years, including enormous hits like Avengers: Endgame, which is still one of the highest grossing movies of all time.

Marvel Studios Full Panel (Hall H) - SDCC 2024

The studio has been on a bit of a downslope since the release of Endgame, with movies like Eternals and The Marvels underperforming by the studio’s lofty standards. Because these movies often have budgets that are more than $200 million, though, grosses that may be otherwise qualified as hits still lose the studio money. Thanks to an opening weekend north of $200 million for Deadpool & Wolverine, though, as well as the buzz around the return of Robert Downey Jr. to the MCU, may signal a turning point for Marvel where they can right the ship.

Recommended Videos

While Marvel is now north of $30 billion, no other franchise has crossed $20 or even $15 billion. Sony’s Spider-Man franchise currently sits at $10.6 billion across 10 films, while Star Wars sits at $10.3 billion across 11 films, Harry Potter has grossed $9.6 billion across 11 films and James Bond has grossed $7.8 billion across 25 films. It’s safe to say that none of these franchises will be catching Marvel anytime soon, and the franchise may be poised to extend its run of dominance in the years to come.

Joe Allen
Joe Allen is a freelance culture writer based in upstate New York. His work has been published in The Washington Post, The…
The first trailer for ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ is here, and it’s playing the hits
The movie will hit Netflix on July 25
happy gilmore 2 trailer adam sandler in

It's been more than 25 years since we've seen Happy Gilmore, and Netflix is ready to bring him back. The first trailer for Happy Gilmore 2 checks in on the titular golf prodigy now that he's well into middle age, and is heavy on vibes but light on plot.

All we know for sure is that Happy feels a little intimidated by some of the pros who are golfing today, and that when we pick up with him, it's been a while since he touched a golf club. The trailer also gives us a glimpse at some cast members returning from the first film, including Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald, and Ben Stiller, plus newcomers like Bad Bunny, Travis Kelce, and Sandler’s daughters Sadie and Sunny.

Read more
The first full trailer for Brad Pitt’s ‘F1’ is here, and it features a speedy Brad Pitt
Apple reportedly spent a fortune to make a super realistic racing movie.
Brad Pitt in F1

Brad Pitt's F1 is one of the most anticipated movies of the year, and based on the first trailer, it may live up to the hype. The movie, which follows Pitt as a journeyman racer who is offered one last chance to be the best in the world in Formula 1, was directed by Joseph Kosinski, who also directed Top Gun: Maverick.

And, according to Kosinski, Pitt reached some pretty incredible speeds in service of making this movie.

Read more
The first three episodes of ‘Andor’ season 1 are now available on YouTube
The show's first season featured four, three-episode arcs
Stellan Skarsgard and Diego Luna in Andor

Ahead of the premiere of its second season on Disney+, Disney has pulled out all the stops to get people excited for the return of Andor. That includes putting the show's entire first season on Hulu and also putting the first three episodes of season 1 on YouTube. If you've been holding off on checking the most critically acclaimed Star Wars show out, now's the time to give it a go.

Tony Gilroy, the show's creator, will also be hosting a live hour-long rewatch event on March 13 “with select talent." We don't know who exactly will be there yet, though.

Read more