After The Fall Guy tripped over its stunts last year (pun intended), the MCU is back in the starting loadout space for the kickoff into the summer season, striking, like thunderbolts! Get it? Ok.

The MCU’s 36th feature whipped up a good $76 million domestic opening, coming off positive reviews and an A- from CinemaScore. It narrowly inched past Ant-Man and the Wasp‘s $75.8 million and beat out Eternals‘ $71.3 million debut. So, we’re back in a similar boat as we were several years ago, meaning the MCU is gaining some traction by heading back in the right direction. However, this is still the second-lowest kickoff from their IP for summer standards. Some good notations would be that these involved lesser-known characters (except for Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan) that you found on random episodes of Disney+ or lesser-seen movies under the MCU umbrella.

There was no Will Smith or Joker to catapult the day if we compare this to DC’s Suicide Squad. Perhaps if we look at the grand scheme of things, the MCU delivered the “we’re the terrible anti-heroes/villains and must save the world in bizarre unison” better than DC did in 2016, and made more money overnight than their reboot in 2021 (even if it got whacked by COVID primarily). Unfortunately, Thunderbolts* is merely another MCU film, saving the big stuff for The Fantastic Four: First Steps later in the summer and Avengers: Doomsday next summer. And while it has some great themes and a superb performance from Florence Pugh, Marvel decided to keep a lower-scale feature with good ingredients to keep the appetite warm for what comes next (which is a good thing).

Where this lands box office-wise will probably be closer to Ant-Man than a Guardians of the Galaxy. Doing some simple math for legs, we’re probably looking at a little over $210 million domestic and around $500-550 million worldwide when all is said and done. Is this a win? Sure, but the days are long gone when you bargained that every Marvel title must earn $1 billion to be considered a success. Deadpool & Wolverine was an adrenaline rush of nostalgia, pioneered by the return of Hugh Jackman. None of the Marvel sequels in 2022 earned $1 billion (if China was involved, maybe), and too many cracks in 2023 (except Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) meant the MCU was indicting its self-worth.

Too much homework for casual moviegoers means less incentive. If Kevin Feige is pumping the brakes, make sure Doomsday doesn’t fall to the recent wounds, or it’ll be an atrocious night for the zebras come next summer.

In other news, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners is still rocking the blues and taking names, earning $33 million in its third weekend. It should be north of $200 million domestic next weekend as it has already crossed $220 million globally. Yes, this is heavily catered towards demographics in the U.S./Canada, but this is rocking the bed for an original concept film. Even when stripping away the IMAX theaters, folks still are showing up for a movie they want and one that exemplifies a different nature. Regarding IMAX, maybe theaters should spend time and money polishing their screens and chairs so folks are more fascinated with going to the multiplex than using their Dolby systems at their patented homesteads!

A Minecraft Movie earned $13.7 million in its fifth weekend, as it just missed $400 million domestic. With $833 million globally and counting, expect $900 million to be next on its radar (even if $1 billion is a bridge too far). The Accountant 2 earned $9.5 million in its second weekend and has passed $54 million worldwide (it is now lagging behind its predecessor, but $100 million worldwide is still a plausibility). Until Dawn will pass $35 million worldwide by the end of this sentence.

The Amateur and The King of Kings earned $1.8 million and $1.65 million in their fourth weekend, respectively. Disney’s Snow White has tumbled past $200 million globally, becoming a box office bomb (call it a bashing on Rachel Zegler’s political comments, but no one wants any more Disney remakes!). And Captain America: Brave New World resurged with $161k thanks to Thunderbolts* to push it to $415 million globally.

Next weekend sees the release of Shadow Force, Fight or Flight, Friendship, Clown in a Cornfield, and Juliet & Romeo.