The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the highest-grossing movie franchise in history. Starting in 2008 with Iron Man, the MCU has certainly changed the game for not only comic book movies, but cinema as a whole. Enjoying critical and commercial acclaim for so long, the MCU has become a box office behemoth that earns millions of dollars from its projects.
While the shared universe is a huge success, numerous Marvel movies outside the MCU have done well in terms of earnings. From Sony's Spider-Man movies to Fox's X-Men Universe, Marvel movies have ruled at the box office for the majority of the 21st century and continue to do so.
10 Big Hero 6 Brought In A Solid $657,869,686
Big Hero 6 is an animated movie that's loosely based on the Marvel comics of the same name. The film received mostly positive reviews when it was released in 2014. While Big Hero 6 was a huge deviation from its source material, the superhero movie managed to make huge bucks at the box office and also become one of the highest-earning animated movies at that time.
Baymax also earned his place as one of the cutest Disney characters. For its comforting story, captivating characters, and colorful visuals, Big Hero 6 performed well at the box office with an impressive $657,869,686.
9 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Made $708,982,323 At The Box Office
Since the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, fans have been reminded of their love for Andrew Garfield's version of Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Unfortunately, this wasn't always the case, as The Amazing Spider-Man 2 failed to reach fans' lofty expectations. The 2014 film was mostly met with negative reviews, so all the plans for subsequent movies and spin-offs were scrapped.
However, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 did quite well at the box office as it managed to place not so far behind its predecessor. While it is the least-earning live-action Spider-Man movie to date, $700 million is still a lot of money.
8 X-Men: Days Of Future Past Made An Impressive $746,045,700
After the underwhelming performance of X-Men: First Class, the franchise returned with X-Men: Days of Future Past. X-Men: Days of Future Past was met with critical acclaim for its story and cinematography. Made on a budget of more than $200 million, the movie performed well at the box office and earned a little less than a quarter of a billion dollars.
Days of Future Past is the highest-grossing movie under the X-Men banner and is the third-highest in Fox's universe of Marvel characters, sitting just after the two Deadpool movies. It also outperformed Captain America: The Winter Soldier, another Marvel movie that released the same year.
7 The Amazing Spider-Man Rebooted The Character And Brought In $757,930,663
Sony rebooted the Spider-Man series that starred Tobey Maguire by creating a new series centered around Andrew Garfield as the titular character. The Amazing Spider-Man was a solid superhero outing and was loved by fans around the world. While it had its missteps, the characters and cinematography of the movie greatly outweighed the flaws.
Made on a big budget of more than $200 million, The Amazing Spider-Man did not disappoint at the box office. Released around the same time as movies like The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, the Spider-Man film managed to make a place in history for itself.
6 Deadpool Became The Highest R-Rated Movie At Its Time With $782,612,155
Deadpool is one of the most popular Marvel characters, but he's yet to appear in the MCU. A large amount of credit for his popularity goes to the two Deadpool movies he starred in. Ryan Reynolds portrayed the character with hilarious perfection and there's no doubt that he was the best man for the job.
One of the best comic book anti-heroes made a big entry at the box office with Deadpool. The R-rated film surpassed every other Fox-Marvel movie at the time. Made on a budget of $58 million, Deadpool certainly exceeded every expectation that fans had about the project.
5 Deadpool 2 Narrowly Outperformed Its Predecessor And Grossed $785,896,609
Just like its predecessor, Deadpool 2 was an unusual superhero movie. From scary bloodbaths to the antihero's sudden quips, fans could expect the unexpected from a Deadpool picture. The sequel broke numerous records at the box office upon its release. The film outperformed the original and became the highest-grossing R-rated movie until the record was broken by Joker.
Deadpool 2 also had the highest opening day for a 20th Century Fox movie. It took around $110 million to make Deadpool 2, and the movie did justice to its increased budget by performing well at the box office.
4 Spider-Man 2 Did Great At The Box Office With $788,976,453
After the massive success of Spider-Man, Sony brought the webbed hero back with a sequel in 2004. Titled Spider-Man 2, the sequel was a worthy addition to the series. From Tobey Maguire and Alfred Molina's great acting to the action-packed plot, the movie left little to no room for complaints. Some fans even consider the Spider-Man sequel superior to the original movie.
Financially, Spider-Man 2 fell a bit short of its predecessor. Nonetheless, made on a budget of around $200 million, Spider-Man 2 had quite a good run at the theaters. It also broke the record for the highest-grossing Wednesday, surpassing Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, which is impressive.
3 Spider-Man Brought The Character To Live-Action With $825,025,036
Spider-Man has been one of the most popular superheroes of Marvel Comics. His stardom took an exponential leap when Sony brought him to live-action in the grandest way possible. Starring Tobey Maguire as the webbed hero, Spider-Man did wonders at the box office and became the highest-grossing superhero movie at the time of its release.
Spider-Man was the third-highest-grossing movie of 2002, sitting behind Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Made on a budget of around $139 million, Spider-Man completely revolutionized the future of superhero movies with its blockbuster success.
2 Venom Kickstarted The Sony Shared Universe And Earned $856,085,151
After Spider-Man's three reboots, Sony decided to explore other Marvel characters and chose Venom as its next protagonist. Tom Hardy played the anti-hero and the movie was a perfect blend of action and humor. From catchy one-liners to the humorous interactions between Venom and Eddie Brock, Venom maintained its quality until the very end.
It took around $100 million to create Venom, but Sony earned big bucks from this blockbuster. Venom is also the first movie in Sony's shared universe, which is known as the SSU.
1 Spider-Man 3 Made Its Way To The Top With $894,983,373
Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 is one of the most polarizing superhero movies of all time as it completely divided fans. Some say it was a disappointing end to one of the greatest superhero trilogies of all time, while others find it entertaining. Nevertheless, both detractors and fans watched the movie, which helped make it the highest-grossing Marvel film.
As time has passed, fans have come to love the movie even more. The Bully Maguire concept which was hated by viewers at the time has now become a playful and hilarious meme. Made on a hefty budget of $258 million, Spider-Man 3 eventually managed to earn almost $900 million, the most that any Marvel movie outside the MCU has made.