With the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Marvel Studios’ Cinematic Universe has already become the highest-grossing franchise of all time in North America, and with the Phase Two sequel now pushing its worldwide total beyond $586 million, the MCU has surpassed the global haul of James Bond franchise ($6.198 billion) to become the second biggest movie series of all time. Here’s the full breakdown of how the previous Marvel Cinematic Universe movies have shaped up at the box office:
Iron Man – £585.2 million
The Incredible Hulk – £263.4 million
Iron Man 2 – $623.9 million
Thor – $449.3 million
Captain America: The First Avenger – $370.6 million
The Avengers – $1.518 billion
Iron Man 3 – $1.215 billion
Thor: The Dark World – $644.8 million
Leading the field globally is Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter franchise, with its eight instalments earning a combined $7.709 billion – a figure that Marvel should surpass with Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Age of Ultron, and that’s before the studio’s Phase Three offerings such as Ant-Man and Captain America 3 hit cinemas. Of course, with Warner Bros. working on a trilogy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them spin-offs, the wizarding saga may not give up top spot without a fight.
Originally published April 19, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
