After the incredible success of Avengers: Endgame and the conclusions of the Infinity Saga and Phase Three, the future was suddenly uncertain for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. End of Game felt like the finale of everything the MCU had built, and there was doubt the franchise would be able to sustain its momentum after that. Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios had no intention of slowing down, however.
Not only was Phase Four and beyond already in active development and production, there were plans to expand the MCU beyond the movies and into streaming series on Disney+ as well.
The MCU’s Phase Four began in early 2021 and ended in late 2022; don’t let its brevity mislead you, though. Although the phase only lasted two years, it was the longest of all to date. While Phases One and Two consisted of 6 films each and Phase Three had 11, Phase Four consisted of 15 projects in total. 8 of those projects were original series on Disney+, while 7 were feature films.
The whole phase was delayed somewhat, as the onset of the global Covid-19 pandemic essentially shut down the entire entertainment industry. This had a dramatic effect on the box office of Phase Four films, but things finally started to return to normal in the second half of Phase. Courtesy of The Numbers, here’s how each MCU Phase Four movie ranks in terms of box office.
7 Black Widow – $379,751,927
The first Phase Four entries were all Disney+ series, like Wanda Vision, The Falcon and the Winter SoldierAnd Loki all debuted in the first half of 2021. However, the first film in the phase, Black Widowwas released in July 2021. Black Widow was one of the first major blockbuster films to be released during the pandemic, following films like Principle, Wonder Woman 1984, And Godzilla vs. Kong. Because of this, the film had to overcome the hurdles of the pandemic era, primarily the sheer number of theaters that remained closed and how comfortable audiences were with returning to a theater in the first place.
To make up for that a bit, the film was simultaneously made available to rent at a premium price on Disney+ when it hit theaters. Always, Black Widow opened with a respectable $80 million, more than Ant-Man and the Wasp was back in 2018. Unfortunately, it sank pretty quickly after that, and it was only able to reach $183 million domestically and a worldwide total of $379 million. Which does Black Widow the third lowest-grossing MCU film to date, with only 2008 The Incredible Hulk and 2011 Captain America: The First Avenger come under that.
6 Eternals – $401,731,759
Released a few months later Eternals was the third Phase Four film when it was released in November 2021. The film had the advantage of starring high-profile filmmaker Chloé Zhao, who had just won multiple Oscars for her film nomadlandon board as director. Eternals was billed as an epic, story-driven chapter in the MCU, but it ultimately failed to connect with audiences.
The box office was in a much better position than it had been with Black Widow (although it wasn’t quite back to normal), and yet the movie started with just $70 million and quickly fizzled out thereafter. It grossed $164 million in North America and a total of just over $400 million worldwide. On a national level, Eternals earned less than Black Widow, but a better performance overseas put him ahead of that film. Audience and critics’ response to the film hasn’t been great either, as it was the first-ever MCU film to receive a “rotten” score on Rotten Tomatoes.
5 Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – $432,224,634
Between the outputs of Black Widow And Eternals was Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringswhich opened in September 2021. Shang Chi opened to around $75 million domestically, but strong word-of-mouth over the film helped lift it to a decent change at the box office. It grossed $224 million domestically and earned a worldwide total of $432 million.
Its overseas haul of approximately $207 million was actually less than that of Eternals however, which grossed $232 million internationally. However, of the first three Phase Four films, Shang Chi was the strongest of the three, both financially and in terms of entertainment.
4 Thor: Love and Thunder – $760,929,081
In 2022, the Thor the series returned with its fourth entry, making it the first non-avengers MCU title to receive four films. Thor: Love and Thunder was also released at a time when the box office was finally (thankfully) showing signs of a full recovery. Top Gun: Maverick had just crossed the billion dollar mark at the box office, and Jurassic World: Dominion was on track to do the same.
Thor: Love and Thunder, however, didn’t quite excite audiences as much as expected. It started with $144 million and has grown to gross $343 million in North America and a worldwide total of $760 million. Although these are solid numbers, the general disappointment with the quality of the film after Thor: Ragnarok certainly had an effect on that. lover and thunder was undeniably a hit, but it wasn’t the billion dollar movie that Marvel Studios had probably hoped for.
3 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – $854,041,058
After the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman, the Black Panther The series was placed in a predicament where it would either have to recast its lead character or move on without him. The decision was finally made to move forward without T’Challa and focus Black Panther: Wakanda Forever about his sister Shuri and the rest of the first film’s supporting cast.
wakanda forever was a touching tribute to Boseman’s legacy, and it was a movie that audiences really responded to. It opened to $181 million in North America, where it went to gross $453 million. Overall, it grossed a total of $854 million. Interestingly, just like the first Black Panther had, wakanda forever joined the small group of MCU films that have grossed more in North America than overseas. Although the film may not have been as strong as the first Black Pantherthis film set the bar very high, and wakanda forever was still unquestionably a big hit in its own right.
2 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – $952,224,986
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness saw the MCU return to the primary release date of the first weekend of May, which many consider the starting point for the summer movie season. It was the first MCU film to open in this space since Avengers: Endgame open end of April 2019. When Multiverse of Madness opened in May 2022, there was a lot of hype surrounding the film. He came out of the immense success of the last Spider Man, it was expected to have plenty of exciting cameos, and Sam Raimi’s return to the comic book movie space has thrilled a lot of people. While Multiverse of Madness didn’t quite make it to the billion dollar club, it came very close.
The film opened with $187 million domestically, and it earned $411 million in North America and a total gross of $952 million worldwide. Anyone who says this movie was underperformed is kidding themselves. It’s the 11th highest-grossing MCU movie of all time (which is bigger than it sounds), it was the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2022 worldwide, and the third-highest in North America.
1 Spider-Man: No Coming Home – $1,910,048,245
Finally, the success of Spider-Man: No Coming Home was the culmination of the MCU’s Phase Four. While the box office was certainly on the verge of a full recovery after the pandemic brought everything to a halt, this was the release of Spider-Man: No Coming Home it proved that movies could still be the massive draws they had been before the pandemic. No coming home was released in December 2021 with a $260 million domestic opening weekend.
It went on to gross $814 million in North America alone and a total of $1.91 billion worldwide. It is easy to do No coming home the biggest film of the year, both nationally and worldwide. It became the third highest-grossing film of all time in North America, and sixth in the world. No coming home was the first real seismic blow for the MCU in Phase Four, and it signaled that audiences were truly still interested in the franchise.
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