May Box Office: Avengers, Iron Man & Civil War still reign supreme

It’s no secret that Marvel dominates May—but this year, Thunderbolts barely made a dent.

Released on May 2, Thunderbolts opened to a modest $74.3 million at the North American box office. While that might seem impressive on paper, it's a far cry from the monster openings Marvel has pulled off in previous Mays. In fact, Thunderbolts didn’t even crack the top 10 biggest opening weekends for the month.

May has traditionally been Marvel’s playground, marking the start of the summer blockbuster season. With school holidays and long weekends, it’s prime time for studios to cash in—and Marvel has consistently delivered. Just look at past May releases: The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Captain America: Civil War, and Avengers: Age of Ultron all crossed the $100 million mark in their opening weekends.

In contrast, Thunderbolts fell short—not just of Marvel’s usual benchmark, but also behind other May powerhouses like Top Gun: Maverick, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, and Deadpool 2.

Last year, Marvel skipped a May release entirely, with Deadpool & Wolverine hitting theaters later in the year. Before that, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) carried the May torch with massive success.

This year may have kicked off strong with the Minecraft movie dominating April and the horror flick Sinners surprising everyone—but when it comes to May, the MCU’s legacy of explosive openings remains untouched by Thunderbolts.