Marvel labels Thunderbolts underperforming

Marvel’s box-office problem is no longer something fans are just arguing about online. It has made its way into the studio’s own public framing. This week, Joe Russo talked about Avengers: Doomsday as Marvel’s next big turning point, and the setup around those comments was blunt — Thunderbolts*, Captain America: Brave New World, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps were all grouped together as underwhelming recent releases. (cinemaexpress.com) ### What actually changed? The new thing is not a fresh earnings report. It’s the tone. For a while, Marvel and the people around it could still talk about individual films as special cases — wrong release date, weak marketing hook, odd character mix, whatever. But once Thunderbolts* gets named alongside other recent titles as part of a streak, that stops being a one-movie explanation and starts looking like a studio-level diagnosis. (cinemaexpress.com) ### Why is Thunderbolts* the telling example? Because Thunderbolts* was not a disaster in the usual “everyone hated it” sense. It opened to $74.3 million domestic and finished with $190.3 million in the U.S. and $382.4 million worldwide. Reviews were solid, (cinemaexpress.com)rossover plans. (boxofficemojo.com) ### So why did it still underperform? Basically, Marvel’s own explanation has been that the brand got too sprawling. Kevin Feige said Thunderbolts* suffered because many viewers did not know the title characters and may have assumed they needed homework from Disney+ shows to care. That is a nasty combination — good movie, weak recognition, and a fan base trained to wonder whether every release is mandatory reading. (comicbookmovie.com) ### How bad does it look next to the other films? Not catastrophic — but weak enough to reinforce the slump story. Box Office Mojo has Captain America: Brave New World at $415.1 million worldwide, ahead of Thunderbolts* at $382.4 million. The Fantastic Four: First(comicbookmovie.com)e pattern is the point — none of these became the kind of must-see event Marvel used to count on. (boxofficemojo.com) ### Why does Joe Russo matter here? Because Russo is not just any commentator. He is coming back to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, so when he talks about audience behavior, he is also helping frame the challenge Marvel thinks it has to solve. His spoiler-culture complaint sounded small on the surface, but the bigger subtext was clear: Marvel needs people to e(boxofficemojo.com)e. (cinemaexpress.com) ### Is this really about “superhero fatigue”? Only partly. The cleaner read is Marvel-specific fatigue. 2025 still produced giant hits at the global box office — just not from every Marvel title. That suggests audiences did not stop showing up for blockbusters. They got pickier. The old MCU advantage was that almost any installment felt central. Thunderbolts* showed that this is no longer automatic. (boxofficemojo.com) ### What does this mean for Doomsday? Doomsday now has to do more than open big. It has to restore the sense that Marvel movies are events instead of optional side quests. That is why the cast scale, Robert Downey Jr.’s return as Doctor Doom, and the “major turning point” language matter so much. Marvel is selling a correction, not just another sequel. (cinemaexpress.co([boxofficemojo.com)omsday-director-joe-russo-slams-spoiler-culture-ahead-of-mcu-reboot-people-are-scared-to-engage)) ### Bottom line? Thunderbolts* matters because it turned a quiet worry into an admitted pattern. Marvel is now talking like a studio that knows the streak is real — and that Avengers: Doomsday has to fix it.