MCU Phase 5 Struggles With Mixed Fan Reception And Box Office

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There’s been a lot of discussion about the recent performance of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After the huge success of Avengers: Endgame, the franchise hasn’t quite been able to recapture the same level of excitement it enjoyed from 2008 to 2019. Problems started to become noticeable in Phase 4 and continued throughout Phase 5.

Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe had both successful films like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and some that didn’t perform as well, such as Eternals and Thor: Love and Thunder. This mixed result continued into the next phase, highlighting a clear pattern and revealing the challenges the series is currently facing.

Phase 5 Never Gained Momentum Thanks To Up & Down Fan Reception

Even when a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie wasn’t a hit, like Thor: The Dark World, they consistently bounced back with something strong. This pattern of occasional missteps, followed by successes, helped build the franchise’s momentum and created a lot of excitement for their biggest releases.

Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and everything that’s come after Endgame, has struggled to maintain momentum. A pattern has emerged where a well-received project is followed by one that disappoints fans. For example, after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, we’ve seen less successful films like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Captain America: Brave New World, with Deadpool & Wolverine and Thunderbolts still to come.

Recent Marvel movies haven’t resonated with fans, which has slowed the MCU’s overall progress. As a result, even the highly anticipated Avengers: Doomsday doesn’t generate the same excitement as Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame did when those films were approaching release.

The Box Office Of Phase 5 Was Also A Mixed Bag

Jay Maidment / Marvel / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

While reviews from critics and fans matter, ultimately a movie’s success in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is measured by how much money it makes. These films are expensive to produce, and are expected to earn a lot at the box office, but Phase 5 hasn’t quite lived up to those expectations so far.

Some Marvel movies have been huge hits, like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (earning over $800 million) and Deadpool & Wolverine (over $1.3 billion). However, other recent films haven’t performed as well. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania didn’t even reach $500 million despite costing almost $400 million to make. The Marvels is the lowest-earning movie in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America: Brave New World made just over $400 million, and Thunderbolts also fell short of $400 million.

This isn’t a good sign for the future of the series and suggests people aren’t very enthusiastic about these projects right now.

Most Phase 5 MCU Movies Were Still Good

Although many Phase 5 projects haven’t been well-received by fans, most of the movies are actually solid. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 successfully concludes that trilogy, Deadpool & Wolverine revitalizes its franchise, and Thunderbolts looks promising, particularly thanks to a powerful performance from Florence Pugh.

Viewers weren’t as excited about Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Captain America: Brave New World, and The Marvels. While the lukewarm reception to the first two films is somewhat expected, The Marvels is actually a really fun movie and plays a key role in where the Marvel Cinematic Universe is headed.

Despite recent challenges, the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to deliver good movies and shows, which is encouraging for its future. The key now is to focus on maintaining a consistent level of quality.

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2026-02-19 18:51