Every movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ranked via box-office takings

Box office: $379.8m

Natasha Romanoff's long-awaited solo movie was the first movie of Phase Four, but ended up being released at the worst time as cinemas were only slowly reopening following the pandemic.

Box office: $401.7m

We're into a run of Phase Four movies. Eternals was unable to overcome mixed reviews and relatively unknown characters to be a box-office draw.

Box office: $432.2m

Simu Liu's MCU debut as Shang-Chi did better than the other opening movies of Phase Four, but was still only on par with Phase One movies at the box office.

Box office: $449.3m

The God of Thunder's first outing in 2011 didn't cause that much of a bang in comparison with his later hits. We remember it fondly, though.

Box office: $463.6m

Like Black Widow, Quantumania couldn't kick off a new phase of the MCU (Phase Five this time) on a high. The threequel also received some of the worst Marvel reviews to date.

Box office: $518.9m

Still a hit in 2015 but ant-sized in proportion to Marvel's biggest players.

Box office: $585.2m

Marvel's very first foray into the MCU was a risk back in 2008 – most people hadn't even heard of the character, for one – but it was one that paid off in spades and set the tone for most of what was to come.

Box office: $621.2m

Tony Stark's second outing in 2010 was more successful than the first, even if we weren't convinced by Mickey Rourke's Whiplash. Nor, to be fair, was Rourke, who reckoned his best bits ended up on the cutting-room floor.

Box office: $623.1m

While it didn't do close to Infinity War numbers, the light-hearted romp Ant-Man and The Wasp was what every Marvel fan needed – and it ended up doing more than the first movie.

Box office: $644.6m

Thor 2 went full-on fantasy in 2013, helmed by Game of Thrones regular Alan Taylor, bagging a comfortable box office for its trouble.

Box office: $676.3m

Very healthy returns for an origin story, this 2016 movie mixed mysticism with Inception-esque VFX.

Box office: $714.4m

Cap 2 impressed audiences and scored at the box office in 2014 with its grittier tone and impressive action. The Russo brothers stuck with the MCU for Civil War, as well as Avengers 3 and 4.

Box office: $760.9m

The fourth Thor movie managed to outdo the first two, but was a step down from Thor: Ragnarok – both at the box office and with critics.

Box office: $770.9m

The 2014 cosmic ensemble added a new, slightly cheekier Star Wars flavour to the MCU and it really paid off, with surprisingly strong receipts.

Box office: $839.7m (still on release)

James Gunn left the MCU on a high with an excellent return for his third and final Guardians outing. It's still on release as of July 2023, so it could get even higher here.

Box office: $850.5m

Thor 3 did storming numbers, easily trumping the last two. Maybe it's because this 2017 entry is easily the funniest movie in the MCU.

Box office: $854m

While not the billion-dollar hit of the first movie, Wakanda Forever was one of the successes of Phase Four, paying tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman in the best way.

Box office: $869.1m

Star-Lord and his pals scored big once again with this second outing in 2017, all about Daddy issues.