*thunderbolts Set to Lose Disney Marvel $100 Million

Yet another flop from the House of Mouse.

When *Thunderbolts hit theaters early this month, it seemed like Disney Marvel had finally started to get things trending in the right direction. The film was garnering positive audience buzz (assuming Rotten Tomatoes is anything to go off of, but I digress), critic reviews were similarly cheery, and its first weekend in theaters generated $76 million. Still, that $76 million was more ominous than some might think, as it put the film right in the neighborhood of Eternals and its $71 million debut. That movie remains one of the biggest flops of the MCU.

The question then became whether or not *Thunderbolts would have legs and be able to squeak out some profit. Hell, Disney Marvel was so intent on making that happen the company rechristened the film as New Avengers* to try and generate some extra buzz. Alas, it was not meant to be, as it turns out that *Thunderbolts is likely going to cost Disney Marvel a hundred million dollars when all is said and done. The movie currently sits at $355 million globally and is unlikely to breach $500 million by the time it exits theaters. $500 million, according to analysts, just happens to be the break-even point for *Thunderbolts.

Not good. This means that Disney Marvel has now had a string of three flops out of its past four releases. The Marvels ($206 million), Captain America: Brave New World ($415 million), and now *Thunderbolts (sub $500 million) are the trio. Deadpool & Wolverine is the exception, with a rapturous $1.3 billion, but if this failure of *Thunderbolts reveals anything, it's that Disney Marvel will have a lot riding on Fantastic Four: First Steps when it hits theaters in July. It's also evident that any goodwill Disney Marvel once had with fans has also evaporated after so many underwhelming, and even outright awful, projects. With stiff competition from DC's Superman reboot and Jurassic World Rebirth, things are looking dicey for the studio.

Source: World of Reel