DespiteSupermanandThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsbeing some of the biggest movies of the summer movie season, it appears that neither will be the biggest movie of the summer or the year. Even though the idea of $1 billion superhero movie is rarer now than it was in the 2010s and expectations have been mitigated a bit, the combined might of Superman, The Fantastic Four, Thunderbolts, and Captain America haven’t been able to beat titles likeA Minecraft Movie,Lilo & Stitch, andJurassic World: Rebirth. Even though2024 was the worst year for superhero movies since 1997, marked by flops likeKraven the HunterandMadame Web, 2025 has lacked aDeadpool & Wolverine-sized blockbuster. This year, superhero genre has set a troubling record for a genre that many are convinced is petering out.
Comic Book Movietook note that, with the exception of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down theaters, 2025 will mark the first time since 2011 thatno superhero movie has grossedover $700 million at the worldwide box office. 2011 superhero film offerings included the MCU’sThorandCaptain America: The First Avenger, Fox’sX-Men: First Class, DC and Warner Bros.Green Lantern, and Sony Pictures’Green Hornet.
Since then, at least one superhero movie has crossed the $700 million domestic box office benchmark, with the biggest year being 2018, as six superhero movies (Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, The Incredibles 2, Aquaman, Deadpool 2, Venom) grossed over $700 million at the worldwide box office. Below is a chart comparing the box office of 2011 to 2025’s superhero movies.
Should Superhero Fans Be Worried, Or is Everything Simply Resetting?
There is a lot of data to pore over, but the numbers here do paint an illuminating picture. Notably, 2025’s highest-grossing superhero movie,Superman, surpasses 2011’s highest-grossing superhero movie,Thor. EvenThe Fantastic Four: First Steps,which is considered a disappointmentby the massive expectations of the MCU, is still aboveThorandCaptain America: The First Avenger(not adjusted for inflation). Unless seven of the upcoming 2025 releases manage to outgrossThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, it will likely finish higher in its worldwide box office ranking thanThordid in 2011.
Worldwide Box Office Ranking
Domestic Box Office
Worldwide Box Office
Release Date
$181 million
$449.3 million
June 16, 2025
Captain America: The First Avenger
$176.6 million
$370.5 million
July 04, 2025
X-Men: First Class
$146.4 million
$352.6 million
August 25, 2025
Green Lantern
$116.6 million
$237.2 million
June 06, 2025
Green Hornet
$98.7 million
$227.8 million
August 23, 2025
$342.3 million
$597.3 million
August 13, 2025
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
$249.5 million
$471.7 million
June 27, 2025
Captain America: Brave New World
$200.5 million
$415.1 million
Febraury 14, 2025
Thunderbolts*
$190.2 million
$382.4 million
August 10, 2025
Also, it is worth noting that the $1 billion threshold that used to be the benchmark for success is now no longer a given, as international markets' tastes and attitudes towards American-based films have changed. This is something that isn’t just impacting superhero movies, but many franchise entries. Case in point, in 2011,Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocolwas the fifth highest-grossing movie worldwide that year, making $694 million. In 2025,Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoninggrossed $597 million, nearly $100 million less. The bar for success has changed.
2011 was a transition year, a calm before the superhero storm. That same summer, superhero movies were beaten at the box office by films likeHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2, Transformers: Dark of the Moon,Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,Fast Five,The Hangover 2, andCars 2.ThorandCaptain America: The First Avengerwere solid hits, but they planted the seeds that grew into long-running franchises, where two of their three sequels would cross $700 million worldwide. They were long-term investments whose word of mouth grew, which could hold true forSuperman, The Fantastic Four, andThunderbolts*. Following 2011,The AvengersandThe Dark Knight Risesgrossed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, so history could repeat itself, andSpider-Man: Brand New DayandAvengers: Doomsdaymight see the genre rebound in 2026.
