It’s no secret that Marvel movies are some of the most successful blockbusters around. These movies are huge. They have legions of fans and many of them have done well with critics. While there are many ways to look at the success of a film, one way to see how well movies do is to look at the box office. Almost every MCU film does well, but some have done better than others. Many of the highest-grossing Marvel films are the ones you might expect, but a few of them are older ones that might surprise you.
We’ve put together a list of the highest-grossing MCU films based on the box office.
SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING
Spider-Man: Homecoming was the first standalone movie for Spider-Man in the MCU. Given Spider-Man’s introduction in the MCU in Captain America: Civil War, it’s no surprise that many fans were excited to see more of Peter Parker. Plus, the character has always been beloved in the comics as well as onscreen. With a worldwide gross of $880,166,924, this film did really well, but it actually didn’t do as well domestically as the Toby Maguire Spider-Man film, which had a domestic gross of $403,706,375.
SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME
The sequel to Homecoming, which only released in July of this year, did even better than the original. Given that the movie is coming off the recent success of Avengers: Endgame, which left fans asking many questions, it’s no wonder Far From Home did well. This movie had a domestic gross of $319,659,412 and a worldwide gross of $970,759,412. Given that this movie is a single superhero flick and not an ensemble one, it’s an impressive number.
CAPTAIN MARVEL
Captain Marvel is another recent Marvel film as it came out in March of this year. As the first female-led MCU movie, many people were curious about how it would fare at the box office. The film did really well, with a total worldwide gross of over one billion dollars at $1,128,274,794. This is pretty impressive, considering Captain Marvel hadn’t been introduced in the MCU yet at all, and also that she might not be the best-known comic book movie. This is a great sign for future diversity in other Marvel films. The movie also had a stunning opening weekend that even beat out Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
Captain America has been one of the most loved characters to come out of the MCU. Along with Iron Man, he was largely the backbone of the MCU for a while. It’s therefore no surprise that the ending movie in his trilogy did so well. Given the success by critics and fans of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, this makes a lot of sense. The film had a worldwide gross of $1,153,304,495. Plus, the fact that this was also an ensemble movie with a comic book-based storyline helped its success.
IRON MAN 3
Iron Man was the superhero who kicked off the entire MCU as we know it. He has been somewhat of a crown jewel from the start. While things have shifted now with Iron Man likely having made his last appearance, fans will always be attached to the character. Iron Man 3 might be a little surprising to see on the list as it came out in 2013, but the love of the character probably fueled the film's impressive box office performance. Iron Man 3 had a total worldwide gross of $1,214,811,252.
BLACK PANTHER
Black Panther is another film that many fans were looking forward to. This movie had a domestic gross of $700,059,566, which is extremely impressive. This Oscar-winning movie’s worldwide gross was $1,346,913,161. The huge success of this movie is exciting, as it proves that superhero films with mostly diverse casts and stories can do well in all facets. Many fans just can’t wait for Black Panther 2.
AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON
The fact that Avengers: Age of Ultron is so high on this list might seem pretty surprising. In the entire slate of MCU films, this is one of the older movies. The total domestic gross was $459,005,868 and the total worldwide gross was $1,405,403,694. This movie is actually the eighth highest-grossing film worldwide, which is quite an accomplishment. Given that fans love the Avengers and the group movies, this likely explains the film's success, even if critics didn’t love it.
THE AVENGERS
While there were other solo movies in the MCU before The Avengers, it was really this movie that brought everything together and showed what the franchise was all about. While solo films like Iron Man give a deep dive into one character, the group movies bring all these big personalities together in ways fans love. This film had a total domestic gross of $623,357,910 and a total worldwide gross of $1,518,812,988. Overall, the huge success of this movie is likely what propelled the entire MCU into being so successful and evolving into what it is today.
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
It’s likely no surprise that the two most recent Avengers films are the most successful MCU movies, according to the box office. Avengers: Infinity War had a domestic gross of $678,815,482 and a total worldwide gross of $2,048,359,754. This makes it the first Marvel movie with a worldwide gross of over two billion dollars. Given the huge lead-up to this film and the fact fans knew Thanos was likely going to kill some of their favorite characters, it’s no wonder so many fans turned out for this movie.
AVENGERS: ENDGAME
Of course, it’s Avengers: Endgame that is the highest-grossing Marvel film of all time. Its domestic gross was $854,216,193, making it the only other MCU film whose domestic gross was higher than Black Panther. Endgame's total worldwide gross is $2,790,216,193. This film was successful because fans wanted to know what was happening to their favorite characters. Also, Marvel really pushed for this film by doing a re-release so that it would overtake Avatar as the highest-grossing movie of all time.