TheMarvel Cinematic Universe’s best-rated movies in a long time may have come too late for Marvel Studios. When it comes to theranking of MCU movies, those towards the top of the list tend to come from the Infinity Saga. The installments fromCaptain America’s MCU timeline, individualIron Manstories, orAvengersmovies often find themselves higher ranked.
Marvel’s 2026 movieswill be looking to change this by bringing more prevalent Multiverse Saga stories into the spotlight as some of the MCU’s best. These projects includeSpider-Man: Brand New Dayand thestory ofAvengers: Doomsday, with the MCU attempting to recapture the magic of the franchise’s past.
Although several projects from Phases 4 and 5 of the MCU failed at this, the franchise’s fortunes have changed very recently. Unfortunately, though, the best MCU movies in a long while may prove to have come too late for the franchise to fix the issues it has suffered since 2019.
Thunderbolts* & The Fantastic Four: First Steps Were Returns To Form For The MCU
In 2025, Marvel Studios released bothThunderboltsandThe Fantastic Four: First Steps. After a few years of inconsistency regarding critical success in the MCU, these two movies proved to be a return to form.Thunderboltscurrently has an 88% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, withThe Fantastic Four: First Stepssitting at an 86% rating.
As proven by both movies' audience approval ratings, it is not only critics who enjoyedThunderbolts*andThe Fantastic Four: First Steps. The former has a 93% rating from fans, with the latter holding a 91% rating. This proves that, in terms of sheer quality, the MCU is back in form for the first time in a long while.
Thunderbolts*andThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsmark the first time two MCU movies in a row have received Rotten Tomatoes scores higher than 85% since 2019.Avengers: EndgameandSpider-Man: Far From Homewere the last two to achieve this feat, with the movies since then fluctuating. With these two 2025 movies, though, the MCU seems back on the right track.
Both MCU Movies Underperformed At The Box Office
However, despite both movies receiving strong reactions from critics and fans alike, bothThunderbolts*andThe Fantastic Four: First Stepshave been underwhelming from a commercial perspective. The MCU has been known to struggle at the box office in recent years, which was a reality not thought possible between 2012 and 2019.
However, of the last seven movies released by Marvel Studios, only two have turned a significant profit. These movies areGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3andDeadpool & Wolverine.Thunderbolts*andThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsdid not do much to become profitable for Marvel Studios, thanks to the former’s $180 million budget and the latter’s cost of $200 million.
Thunderbolts*ended its theatrical run with a worldwide box office total of $382 million, just above the film’s estimated break-even point of $360 million. AlthoughThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsis still in theaters, it has only earned $378 million after suffering a massive 66% drop in viewership between its opening and second weekend.
Marvel’s Strong Movies Came Too Late After Phase 5’s Mixed Bag
With these facts and figures in mind, it can be argued that Marvel’s best movies in years came too late for the MCU, especially after Phase 5. Phase 5 was a mixed bag in both critical and commercial terms.Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniawas not enjoyed by fans or critics and flopped at the box office, earning $470 million worldwide but with a massive $388 million budget.
The next movie after this wasGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, a critical and commercial success. The trend took a downward spiral once more, though, withThe Marvels.The Marvelswas liked by some and is now classed as somewhat underrated, but it isMarvel’s lowest-grossing movieof all time, with only a $200 million worldwide gross.
After this was the $1.3 billion hit,Deadpool & Wolverine, beforeCaptain America: Brave New Worlddisappointed once more with lackluster reviews and an underwhelming $415 million gross. This brings us toThunderbolts*andThe Fantastic Four: First Steps. Unlike the likes ofAnt-Man 3, The Marvels, andCaptain America 4, these two movies were beloved by critics and fans.
Despite this love, however, both still underperformed commercially. This could prove that the return to quality simply came too late.Wider audiences could have felt burned by Phase 5, in which they gave a chance to too many underwhelming MCU movies. Now, no matter the reviews, audiences may be more willing to wait for Disney+ releases.
The MCU’s Focus On Lesser-Known Characters Hindered Its Best Movies In Years
Beyond the potential issue that Marvel waited too long to focus more on quality over quantity once again,Thunderbolts*andThe Fantastic Four: First Stepswere hindered by their lesser-known characters. The Fantastic Four are a household Marvel name among comic fans, but it remains the reality that no major movie based on these characters has grossed over $400 million worldwide.
WhileThunderbolts*did have big characters like Bucky and Yelena, the rest of the team were featured in either lesser-seen MCU movies likeBlack WidoworAnt-Man and the Wasp, or were introduced in TV shows likeThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
UnlikeGuardians of the Galaxy 3andDeadpool & Wolverine, the last two well-reviewed MCU movies, neitherThunderbolts*norThe Fantastic Four: First Stepswere based around huge, well-known heroes. This is another reason why theMCU’s best movies in years have failed to impress at the box office, beyond the simple possibility that Marvel left it too late to return to form.
