TheMarvel Cinematic Universehas achieved a specific feat on Rotten Tomatoes for the first time since 2019. When talking about thebest-ranked MCU movies, it tends to be those from the Infinity Saga that are singled out.Upcoming Marvel moviesare looking to recapture that magic, and recent efforts have shown promising signs that this is possible.
Thetimeline of Marvel movieshas grown inexplicably large in the last 17 years, with the most recent theatrical project,The Fantastic Four: First Steps, even delving into other dimensions. The movie marked Marvel Studios' 37th, truly proving just how expansive the universe has become. However, this expansiveness has not always been positive for the MCU.
Many have criticized the franchise for focusing more on quantity over quality since 2019. The creation ofMarvel’s Disney+ TV showsand the franchise receiving “rotten” ratings on Rotten Tomatoes for some of its tentpole movies - something that did not happen once between 2008 and 2020 - has proven that this argument is certainly valid, to an extent.
Recently, though, Marvel may have turned a corner. This is evident thanks to two MCU movies released in 2025, which together achieved a feat on Rotten Tomatoes that the franchise has not since 2019.
Back-To-Back 2025 Marvel Movies Have Hit 85% Or Higher On Rotten Tomatoes
The feat in question is hitting an 85% or higher critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with two back-to-back movies. In the heights of the Infinity Saga, this was almost guaranteed to happen with most MCU projects. However, from 2019 onwards, the franchise has been plagued with fluctuating critical approval ratings.
That is until 2025.ThunderboltsandThe Fantastic Four: First Stepshave achieved this feat for Marvel once more, with both being positively reviewed by more than 85% of critics, with fan approval ratings also backing this up.Thunderboltshas a Rotten Tomatoes score of 88%, whileThe Fantastic Four: First Stepssits at 86%.
This marks a notable return to form for Marvel Studios, as supported by audience ratings.Thunderbolts*currently has a 93% audience score on the website, withThe Fantastic Four: First Steps’sitting at 91%. This all proves that the MCU may be getting back to its best, by achieving approval ratings from audiences and critics alike that have not been seen for six years.
The MCU Has Not Achieved This Feat Since 2019
As alluded to several times, the last time the MCU achieved two back-to-back movies with 85% or better on Rotten Tomatoes was in 2019. 2019 has often been argued as the beginning of the end for Marvel Studios, withAvengers: Endgameseemingly marking a neat concluding point for the franchise. However, this is where the MCU decided to go bigger, not smaller.
The aftermath ofAvengers: Endgamesaw Marvel Studios delve into Disney+ productions, as well as creating movies that did not necessarily tie to any overarching story. This all resulted in the inconsistency that the franchise has suffered from since, with 2019 being regarded as the last truly great year for the MCU.
TheRotten Tomatoes scores of MCU greatslikeAvengers: EndgameandSpider-Man: Far From Homeprove as much.Avengers: EndgameandSpider-Man: Far From Homewere the last two MCU movies to hit 85% scores on Rotten Tomatoes back to back; the former achieved a 94% critical score, with the latter earning a 91% rating.
After this, the MCU continued to blow hot and cold with its critical ratings until 2025.Thunderbolts*andThe Fantastic Four: First Stepshave now joinedAvengers: EndgameandSpider-Man: Far From Homein this feat, potentially indicating that Marvel Studios is on the right track once again.
The MCU’s Future Looks Set To Continue This Trend
Although the Rotten Tomatoes scores achieved byThunderbolts*andThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsare promising, the MCU needs to continue putting out quality movies to convince audiences that the mistakes of Phases 4 and 5 have been fixed. While it is impossible to say at this point whether this will continue, we can speculate that the future still looks promising for Marvel Studios.
TheMarvel movies of 2026will beSpider-Man: Brand New DayandAvengers: Doomsday. The Tom HollandSpider-Manfilms make up one of thebest MCU trilogiesof all time, with the fourth movie being helmed by an incredibly talented director inShang-Chi’s Destin Daniel Cretton. For these reasons, as well as promising set photo reveals,Spider-Man 4should continue the MCU’s hot streak.
Then there is thestory ofAvengers: Doomsday, which will see the Russo Brothers return to the MCU. The Russos are responsible for some of the best MCU movies ever made, includingCaptain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War,Avengers: Infinity War, andAvengers: Endgame.
Avengers: Doomsdaywill also feature several returning characters from highly-rated films likeThunderbolts*andThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, as well as the X-Men and The Avengers of the core MCU. This, combined with the promising multiversal story and the Russos' return, should hopefully renderAvengers: Doomsdaya success, too.
If so, the MCU hot streak that began withThunderbolts*andThe Fantastic Four: First Stepslooks set to continue. The former could truly have marked the beginning of an uptick in MCU quality, which would logically continue into 2027’sAvengers: Secret Wars, also directed by the Russo Brothers, with all of this being thanks to the back-to-back Rotten Tomatoes scores of two 2025MCUmovies.
