Top 5 Most Successful Marvel Films

Marvel fans everywhere are waiting in anticipation for the next Marvel Cinematic Universe instalment. The UK release date for Thor: Ragnarok (2017) has been moved up to the 24^th October 2017, and we’re certainly ready for it! It’s been two years since we saw Thor and Hulk together – frankly, two years too long. But, Marvel’s been getting everyone excited for another release this week. The first full-length Black Panther (2018) trailer is out, and has been met with great enthusiasm for their most racially diverse film yet.

Box Office Takings: $403,706,375

The oldest film on this list is based around one of the most prominent superheroes from the whole comic book realm, not just Marvel. Kids have been dressing up as him, eating cakes with him on, and have been watching his animated self on TV since 1967. Tobey Maguire was the man given the task of recreating this iconic comic book character, with Sam Raimi directing in 2002. With the addition of Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco, you’re onto a winner. It was a clear hit, making a total gross amount of $403,706,375.

Box Office Takings: $408,084,349

Perhaps a lesser-known superhero takes fourth place. Although he’s always been an iconic figure in the Marvel Universe, his role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has garnered him a huge fan base and a massive increase in popularity. He’s often been attributed with the cheesiness that can let comic books down, but Chris Evans has brought a true bad-ass exterior to the character. Add a perfect-for-the-role Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man, the first glimpse of the new Spider-Man and a whole host of other Marvel characters, and you have one hell of a show-down. The brave idea worked, to the tune of $408,084,349.

Box Office Takings: $409,013,994

One year after the Avengers formed and saved the planet from creepy-looking alien dudes with some hefty lizard-robot things on their side, Iron Man is back in his third film. Robert Downey Jr by this point has proved himself time and time again as a perfect fit for the character, Tony Stark. With Iron Man 2 (2010) receiving almost a full rating number less than Iron Man (2008) on IMDB, it was risky deciding to bring out a third. But it clearly worked. Although the ratings and reviews weren’t as good as the previous two, its gross earnings totalled a massive $409,013,994.

Box Office Takings: $459,005,868

This was the second time we saw our beloved Marvel superheroes join together as the Avengers, but this time they were defeating a creation made from within. In fact, Tony Stark had basically been a bit of an idiot and messed around with some tech. It culminated in the creation of a very evil robot who wanted to take over the world. The big difference this time, was that the story didn’t end so happily. They all went their separate ways, some to find themselves, some because they were mad at other Avengers, and the ones that stayed had nowhere else to go. People seemed to love seeing this darker side of the MCU, so much so that the gross earnings it amassed came to $459,005,868.

Box Office Takings: $623,357,910

But, the film that everyone who’s anyone made a trip to the cinema for was the first Avengers film of the current MCU. The gross earnings totalled a huge $623,357,910. We’d been introduced to Captain America, Iron Man and Thor by this point, who all proved to be popular with comic book fans both old and new. But Marvel’s the Avengers (2012) promised so much more. Not only would we see these superheroes fighting side-by-side, but we’d also be introduced to the likes of Black Widow and Hulk. Not only that, but Loki - who had already proven to be the new Joker of the MCU – was set to come back as the villain. The film was a huge success and proved that Marvel was (and still is) leading the way in comic book movies.