Joe Russo slams Thunderbolts box office

Marvel’s next big movie is suddenly doing two jobs at once. It has to be an event film, and it has to clean up the mood around the MCU after a run of softer box-office results. That’s why Joe Russo’s new comments landed harder than a normal spoiler-culture gripe. In talking about Avengers: Doomsday, he also ended up confirming how Marvel itself seems to see the problem — recent films like Thunderbolts* did not hit like old Marvel movies did. (cinemaexpress.com) ### What did Russo actually say? Russo’s direct point was about spoilers. He said fans have become so anxious about avoiding leaks and reveals that they’re “scared to engage” with even basic promotion, and that spoiler culture has become “over-policed.” But the m(cinemaexpress.com)es from Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps. (cinemaexpress.com) ### Why is Thunderbolts* the flashpoint? Because Thunderbolts* is the awkward case. People generally treated it as a better-liked Marvel movie than some of the franchise’s recent stumbles, but the grosses still came in modest by MCU standards. Box Office Mojo lis(cinemaexpress.com)that reads less like “hit” and more like “proof the old autopilot is gone.” (boxofficemojo.com) ### Was Captain America bigger? Yes — but not by enough to change the story. Captain America: Brave New World finished with $200.5 million domestic and $415.1 million worldwide after opening to $88.8 million domestically. So Russo naming both films matters. He was not singling out Thunderbolts* as some unique bomb. He was grouping it into a broader pattern — (boxofficemojo.com)f-billion-plus worldwide totals that once felt routine for the brand. (boxofficemojo.com) ### So is this really about one movie? Not really. It’s about franchise gravity. Thunderbolts* looks more like a symptom than the disease. The old MCU could turn second-tier characters into giant global earners because the brand itself was the event. Now the brand is not enough by itself. A movie can get decent reviews, recognizable stars, and a clean release slot — and (boxofficemojo.com 1) (boxofficemojo.com 2) ### Why does Doomsday matter so much? Because Marvel is answering softness with scale. Doomsday is scheduled for December 18, 2026, and the pitch is obvious — bring back the Russo brothers, stack the cast with legacy names, and even return Robert Downey Jr. in a new role as Doctor Doom. Basically, Marvel is reaching for the Avengers-era feeling of inevitability again. (cinemaexpress.com) ### Is Russo “slamming” Thunderbolts*? Not exactly. He did not single it out and unload on it. The sharper read is that he acknowledged Marvel’s recent commercial wobble, and Thunderbolts* was one of the examples sitting right there in the open. The catch is that this still lands as a jab, because once a studio starts publicly using your movie as evidence of a slump, the label sticks. (cinemaexpress.com) ### What’s the bottom line? Thunderbolts* is not the whole story. But it has become a useful symbol of Marvel’s current problem — respectable box office, weak by old MCU standards, and not enough to restore the sense that every release is must-see. That is the pressure sitting on Avengers: Doomsday now. (boxofficemojo.com)