Disney and Marvel’s THUNDERBOLTS* lit the fuse on the summer movie season with a $76 million domestic debut, topping the weekend box office and surpassing the combined total of all films from the same weekend last year ($73.9M). The superhero ensemble’s opening powered the overall weekend to $145.6M in total ticket sales, signaling continued box office momentum heading into May.
It’s the strongest start for a film since Q2 began, extending a five-week streak where 2025 totals have outperformed their 2024 counterparts. That streak faces stiffer competition ahead, with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and IF providing tougher comps in the coming two weekends—but THUNDERBOLTS*’ second frame and strong buzz around Warner Bros.’ Final Destination: Bloodlines should keep the heat on.
At the end of Q1, the domestic box office trailed 2024 by 13%. Now, thanks in part to April standouts like A Minecraft Movie and Sinners, 2025 is tracking 14% ahead—an impressive swing for a traditionally sluggish month.
A New Direction for Marvel
THUNDERBOLTS* marks the 36th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and concludes the Phase Five slate that began in 2023. Delayed by the industry strikes, the film was pushed from summer 2024 to Christmas and finally landed in May 2025—just in time to launch the summer season.
Directed by Beef and Paper Towns alum Jake Schreier, the film trades bombastic spectacle for character depth, centering on a ragtag group of antiheroes forced to confront the sins of their past. The ensemble cast includes Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Olga Kurylenko, Wyatt Russell, and Lewis Pullman, with appearances by Laurence Fishburne, Rachel Weisz, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Early reviews have been strong: 88% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, 95% from audiences—ranking THUNDERBOLTS among the top 10 MCU films to date. The film cost $180M to make and needs roughly $450M globally to turn a profit. For Marvel, that’s well within reach—22 MCU films have surpassed $500M globally, and 11 have crossed $1B.
Sinners Continues to Slay
In second place, Warner Bros.’ Sinners added $33M, down just 28% from last weekend. That brings its domestic haul to $179.7M after just 17 days, making it the highest-grossing post-pandemic horror film and the fifth-biggest horror title of all time—passing Five Nights at Freddy’s ($137.3M).
With a tiny $35M budget, Sinners is pacing strongly against the genre titan IT, which had a bigger opening but far steeper week-to-week drops. Thanks to sky-high Rotten Tomatoes scores (98% critics, 97% audience), Sinners may have the legs to challenge IT’s $328.9M domestic total by Memorial Day.
Minecraft Levels Up
A Minecraft Movie held third with $13.7M in its fifth weekend, dropping just 40%. The film has earned $398.2M domestic and $873.4M worldwide to date, making it a legitimate contender to overtake The Super Mario Bros. Movie as the most successful video game adaptation of all time.
The Accountant 2 Comes Up Short
Amazon MGM’s The Accountant 2 placed fourth with $9.5M, down a sharp 61% in its second frame. Its 10-day domestic total sits at $41.2M, trailing the original Accountant (2016), which had made $47.5M by the same point. Despite stronger reviews (78% critics vs. 53% for the original), the $75M sequel faces an uphill climb to recoup its budget.
Until Dawn Struggles to Stay Afloat
Rounding out the top five, Sony’s low-budget horror Until Dawn earned $3.8M in its second weekend, falling 53% for a 10-day total of $14.4M. With a break-even point around $38M, its future is uncertain as four new wide releases enter theaters next weekend.
China Opens the Door—Cautiously
THUNDERBOLTS* opened in China on April 30 to just $2.5M—its weakest MCU launch in over a decade. Although it dodged feared retaliation for U.S. tariffs, audience fatigue and rising geopolitical tensions signal stormy weather for American blockbusters in China.
Studios are now watching closely to see how upcoming tentpoles like Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Paramount, May 23) and Superman (Warner Bros., July 11) fare in this shifting international climate.
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