With every Marvel Cinematic Universe release, fans look forward to hearing about the franchise’s overall box office pull and right now is no exception. With Ant-Man and The Wasp’s modest $161 million worldwide on opening weekend, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s worldwide gross has now reached more than $17 billion worldwide. The Paul Rudd-lead sequel, which marks the 20th entry into the MCU also marks the franchise’s 20th #1 opening-weekend. It is a continuation of the franchise’s 20 for 20 record, which has yet to be beaten.
Last year Thor Ragnarok escorted the franchise and Marvel Studios over to $5 billion domestically, making it the first franchise to do so while it grossed $13 billion worldwide. Afterwards, the big budget tentpole superhero franchise has been carried by two massively successful juggernauts that have allowed it to stand triumphant over all of the competing franchises: Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War.
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Black Panther was breaking records of it’s own, with it now being ranked as the third highest grossing movie of all time, following closely behind Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens and Avatar. Infinity War was also a record-breaking smash hit after signifying the culmination of 10 years of progression for the studio, that was able to become the first MCU film to gross $2 billion worldwide. This is an impressive number, if you look at the sheer profits retrospectively when Disney first bought Marvel Entertainment in 2009. They purchased the popular superhero company for only $4 billion, which is change compared to the overall $17 billion that Marvel Studios has managed to earn.
Currently, the Marvel Cinematic Universe holds 4 out of the 10 slots in the top 10 grossing movies of all time. Infinity War (#4, $2.03 billion), The Avengers (#6, $1.52 billion), Age of Ultron (#8, $1.41 billion), and Black Panther (#9, $1.35 billion) are the only MCU films to accomplish such a feat.
Comparatively, Marvel Studios has been able to rival and double the earnings of similar tentpole heavyweights like Star Wars ($9.47 billion), J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter ($8.53 billion), the Batman franchise (1989 to present with $4.90 billion) and the James Bond 007 franchise ($5.01 billion). It is likely that the MCU will continue to double and even triple these efforts with upcoming outings such as Captain Marvel and the currently untitled fourth The Avengers film.
What do you think of this news? Do you think Marvel Studios will rule the box office for 10 more years? Let us know in the comments below!
Directed by Peyton Reed, Ant-Man & The Wasp stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Peña, Walton Goggins, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Tip “T.I.” Harris, David Dastmalchian, Hannah John-Kamen, Abby Ryder Fortson, Randall Park, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, and Michael Douglas.
Set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, Scott Lang, now under house arrest after the events of Civil War, tries to balance his home life as a father with his responsibilities as Ant-Man. When Hope van Dyne and Hank Pym present him with a new mission to bring to light secrets from their past, Lang teams up with Van Dyne as the new Wasp.
Ant-Man & The Wasp is now playing in theaters!
