Since 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has released 23 films, and while almost all of these movies have completely decimated the box office, fans may be surprised when comparing the numbers and seeing exactly which films fared better.
While the specific Avenger vehicles, like Age of Ultron or Endgame, automatically mean more money for Marvel and Disney, the most popular ones have often been the solo sequel movies, the ones with the most colorful marketing, and the most unique settings and sub-genres. This list looks specifically at worldwide box office gross since only going by domestic numbers would drastically change the ranking.
23 The Incredible Hulk: $264,770,996
One of the factors that likely caused The Incredible Hulk to be the lowest earner of the MCU is the fact that it was only the second film in the franchise before anyone even realized what a superhero cinematic universe like the MCU could be. Since the film's 2008 release, it's mostly known for its star Edward Norton being replaced by Mark Ruffalo in the role of Dr. Bruce Banner.
22 Captain America: The First Avenger: $370,569,774
The last superhero origin story film before 2012's Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger gave fans one of the most beloved MCU characters in the franchise. This affection for Cap would come as the franchise continued since each sequel made more and more money, making it understandable that the character's origin story would make so little money, comparatively, anyway.
21 Thor: $449,325,618
As far as early MCU movies go, Thor was perhaps the hardest sell for audiences as it dealt with fantastical and mythological elements that previous superhero movies didn't possess. But, like Captain America: The First Avenger, it did introduce newer fans to a beloved character that kept them coming back for more as each Thor sequel went on to make more and more money.
20 Ant-Man: $519,311,965
"It was never just a heist!" The solo movies of the MCU that usually do the best are the ones that slightly deviate from the hard-line superhero genre, which makes Ant-Man's placement in the MCU's box office ranking a bit surprising as it is essentially a heist movie with a superhero edge. The importance of Ant-Man and co. in the MCU is not something to ignore, so at least its sequel fared better at the box office.
19 Iron Man: $585,796,247
This is where it all started. Released in 2008, Jon Favreau's Iron Man not only immortalized a superhero that was eclipsed for decades by more popular heroes like Spider-Man or Wolverine, but it also completely revived Robert Downey Jr.'s career. In terms of domestic gross, Iron Man made $319,034,126 which actually places it higher than over half of the films on this list when looking only at the U.S. box office numbers.
18 Ant-Man & The Wasp: $622,674,139
As the first Marvel movie after Avengers: Infinity War, where half of the population found itself disintegrated, audiences may have been a little less than eager to jump right into another MCU movie they knew wouldn't immediately connect to the aftermath of Infinity War, which could be why it didn't make as much money as it could have. Nonetheless, Ant-Man and the Wasp still made a lot at the box office and it was an important setup for Endgame.
17 Iron Man 2: $623,933,331
When Iron Man 2 was released, it was seen as another generic superhero movie sequel that still puts it towards the bottom of many Marvel movie fans' rankings of the franchise. However, with the introduction of Scarlet Johannson's Black Widow and the potential that fans saw, the movie went on to make a lot at the box office.
16 Thor: The Dark World: $644,783,140
After being the main supervillain in the wildly successful Avengers, fans wanted to see more of Loki and Thor together, which may help explain Thor: The Dark World's box office success, since it is considered one of the MCU's weaker entries. Though not as well-received as Thor, its sequel did go on to make more money, which has to count for something.
15 Doctor Strange: $677,796,076
While Guardians of the Galaxy took fans far into space and Ant-Man brought everyone into the quantum realm, Doctor Strange brought real-life magic in the MCU. With the wildly popular Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular character and some of the trippiest special effects that CGI can offer, the movie was bound to be a box office hit.
14 Captain America: The Winter Soldier: $714,421,503
In terms of MCU solo films, Captain America: The Winter Soldier obliterated the rule book as it brought audiences, who may have been expecting another generic superhero sequel, a nail-biting political thriller with consequential conspiracies and some of the best action that the MCU has to offer. The box office success of this film also led the Russo Brothers on the path towards directing Infinity War and Endgame.
13 Guardians Of The Galaxy: $773,350,147
Undoubtedly Marvel's biggest risk, nobody expected much from Guardians of the Galaxy. But, when that first trailer hit with that Blue Swede song, something just clicked for movie fans and the movie went on to become a smash hit. James Gunn's script, soundtrack, and comedic skills helped prime audiences for Cosmic Marvel and really laid the foundation for Infinity War.
12 Thor: Ragnarok: $853,983,911
After Thor: The Dark World disappointed everyone, the only direction the Thor movies had to go was up. Which is exactly where director Taika Waititi's vision of the God of Thunder went, as Thor: Ragnarok out-performed both of its predecessor films. With more color, more laughs, winged horses, Jeff Goldblum, and the MCU's first main female supervillain, Ragnarok completely changed what a Thor movie could be.
11 Guardians Of The Galaxy, Vol. 2: $863,756,051
After the runaway success of James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy, it was basically written into the stars that the sequel —brilliantly called Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2— would be a box office smash as well. Audiences wanted to see more of Star-Lord, Rocket, Drax, Gamora, and, most importantly, Baby Groot, so it's no surprise that the movie made as much money as it did.
10 Spider-Man: Homecoming: $880,166,924
After Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy from the early 2000s and then Sony's underwhelming reboot attempts with the character in the early 2010s, fans were hungry for their friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to crawl his way into the MCU. After stealing the hearts of fans in Captain America: Civil War, fans were finally gifted with a solo MCU Spidey movie and they showed up to the box office in celebration.
9 Captain Marvel: $1,128,462,972
After being teased at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, was a highly-anticipated film, not only for long-time Marvel comic fans but also for moviegoers who wanted a solo origin story with a female lead. Even with some initial online backlash, the movie went on to make over $1 billion and gave audiences a new superhero to see go up against Thanos.
8 Spider-Man: Far From Home: $1,131,927,996
As the first MCU film to be released post-Endgame and the second MCU Spider-Man movie, Far From Home was always going to make a lot of money, but over $1 billion? That's truly amazing. Seeing Peter Parker's life after coming back from "The Blip" and how he was dealing with Tony Stark's death undoubtedly brought in the moviegoers and the box office numbers.
7 Captain America: Civil War: $1,153,337,496
While it's technically the third Captain America movie, Civil War's pantheon of characters made it more like a mini-Avengers movie that people just couldn't stay away from. Being the movie that introduced Spider-Man into the MCU helps, too. Captain America: Civil War's lineup brought more story to the budding romance of Wanda and Vision, it finally brought us non-brainwashed Bucky, and it brought one of the biggest storylines from the comic books to the silver screen.
6 Iron Man 3: $1,214,811,252
Even though the reactions to 2013's Iron Man 3 were mixed-to-positive, the fact that it was the first Marvel film to be released after the record-breaking Avengers movie should have come as no surprise. The movie dealt not only with Tony Starks' post-Avengers PTSD but it also looked at how, as a superhero, he is so much more than his Iron Man suit.
5 Black Panther: $1,347,597,973
While 2017's Black Panther is the #5 highest-grossing movie of the MCU, in terms of domestic numbers, it did even better at the box office. Black Panther made $700,426,566 in the United States alone, which means that the majority of its gross was made domestically. It's a pretty impressive accomplishment since many of the Marvel films make most of their gross overseas.
4 Avengers: Age Of Ultron: $1,402,809,540
Despite being a general letdown amongst Marvel movie fans, especially after the wild success of Joss Whedon's Avengers, Joss Whedon's Avengers: Age of Ultron still made an outrageous amount of money. Along with bringing in the dough, the movie introduced the movie world to Vision, Wanda Maximoff, and the MCU version of Pietro Maximoff.