Marvel’s Latest Box Office Bomb Just Became an Instant Streaming Hit

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That film is Thunderbolts*. Having ending its theatrical run in early August, Thunderbolts* came to Disney+ on Wednesday and immediately became a streaming hit. Thunderbolts* is currently the most item in the Disney+ library in the United States and, according to FlixPatrol, the third most watched movie on Disney+ worldwide.

Can *Thunderbolts** Redeem Its Weak Box Office on Disney+?

Despite strong reviews, particularly in comparison to other recent MCU releases, Thunderbolts* failed to break-even against its budget at the box office this summer and became Marvel Studios’ lowest grossing movie of the year. It earned $190.27 million domestically and $192.16 million internationally for a combined worldwide gross of $382.43 million. That’s less than both Captain America: Brave New World ($415 million worldwide) and The Fantastic Four: First Steps ($491.9 million worldwide at time of writing).

While Thunderbolts* underperformed at the box office, it did receive a solid 88% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s better than Captain America: Brave New World (46%) and on par with The Fantastic Four: First Steps (87%).

One potential problem fro Thunderbolts* is that its team-up movie featuring several characters either introduced or most recently featured in Disney+ television series. The film is led by Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, introduced Marvel’s awkward pandemic release Black Widow, who has since popped up around the Disney+ corner of the MCU in Hawkeye. David Harbour also debuted as Red Guardian in Black Widow. Sebastian Stan is better known, having played Bucky Barnes in the Captain America and Avengers movies, but more recently featured as a co-headliner of the The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series on Disney+, which also introduced Wyatt Russell as John Walker.

Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost, another member of the eponymous team, also received relelatively little exposure by debuting in another low-grossing MCU movie, Ant-Man and the Wasp. The film itself brings Lewis Pullman into the MCU as Robert Reynolds, aka The Sentry, a Marvel character with power on par with DC’s Superman, but he’s a deep cut character whow Ould only serve to draw the most devoted Marvel fans into theaters, assuming they were evena awre of his role in the film given it was kept mostly under wraps.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus also appears in the film as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, the scheming government agent who has been operating in the shadows of recent MCU installments. Jake Schreier directed the from from a screenplay by Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo. Despite Thunderbolts* poor box office returns, Marvel Studios was apparently happy enough with the film to hire Schreier back ito direct the upcoming X-Men reboot. As what’s next for the Thunderbolts (or The New Avengers, if you prefer), fans can next see the team in Avengers: Doomsday.

How do you feel about Thunderbolts*‘s streaming success on Disney+? Do you think the film deserved a better box office? Let us know in the comments.