And this doesn’t happen only with older MCU movies but also the newer ones. Interestingly enough, a movie’s box office gross doesn’t always reflect its overall quality. Sometimes it’s just a question of bad circumstances. Whatever the cause, the least profitable MCU movies are still popular among many fans who like to return to them to this day.

Updated June 21, 2022, by Kath Leroy: Even though it recently expanded into TV series as well, the MCU continues to premier several feature films each year. However, considering the popularity of the superhero genre and many superhero movies, the viewers are becoming more selective about which movie they will go watch.

As a result, and maybe also because of the superhero fatigue, not every MCU movie scores as large a box office gross as other entries in the same cinematic universe. They still make a box office gross that many other movies could be envious of, though, and the critical and fan reviews of the MCU movies are generally positive.

14 The Incredible Hulk (2008): $264 Million

The Incredible Hulk is the one MCU movie many people forget actually belongs to the cinematic universe. If it wasn’t for the presence of general Ross and a brief cameo from Tony Stark in the post-credit scene, it might have as well been a completely separate movie.

One of the reasons is that Edward Norton played Bruce Banner in the movie and Mark Ruffalo only later took on the role of Hulk for Avengers (2012). The movie cost $150 million and made only slightly more, which explains why there hasn’t been another Hulk solo movie ever since.

13 Captain America: The First Avenger (2011): $370 Million

No matter what the Marvel fans think about Steve Rogers and his often no-nonsense character, the MCU wouldn’t be what it is without Captain America. Yet, box-office considered, Captain America’s first solo adventure also seems to be the weakest one.

Perhaps it’s because it once again has very little connection to the present world as about 99 percent of it takes place during World War Two. It does help to provide the background of Steve Rogers, though, and cost even less to make than other MCU movies, only $140 million.

12 Black Widow (2021): $379 Million

Black Widow’s box office gross is the ultimate proof that sometimes movies come at a bad time. Had it premiered a few years back, before the coronavirus crisis and Captain Marvel’s release, it’s likely it would have been much more profitable. However, the movie’s release was badly timed. Some fans also felt that Natasha Romanoff deserved her solo movie much earlier, not after her death in the MCU.

Finally, Black Widow isn’t even technically Natasha’s solo movie as it gives a considerable amount of space to Yelena Belova who will replace Natasha in the MCU. All of these aspects influenced the fact that the movie made only $379 million with a $200 million budget.

11 Eternals (2021): $402 Million

Just like with Shang-Chi, the box office gross of Eternals might yet rise slightly. But it’s already clear that it won’t break the established MCU records or reach the $1 billion threshold that many previous MCU movies crossed.

Once again, it’s probable the timing of its release negatively influenced the success of the movie. Another reason for Eternals not hitting even the half a million mark could be that the general audience doesn’t know the heroes very well, unlike Spider-Man or other well-established characters.

10 Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (2021): $432 Million

2021 wasn’t a good year for the MCU movies, profit-wise. At least until Spider-Man: No Way Home came along and changed things. Shang-Chi got positive reviews from the many people who saw it, but a lot of the viewers were scared to go into cinemas because of the pandemic.

Unlike Spider-Man, Shang-Chi’s lower box office gross can be also explained by the fact that Shang-Chi isn’t as well-known, and he usually plays a supporting part in the comics.

9 Thor (2011): $449 Million

The first Thor solo movie is close to a Shakespearean drama, albeit one set in a fantasy world. It primarily focuses on the conflict between Thor, Loki, and their father Odin as well as Loki’s attempt to get control over Asgard.

The movie’s still captivating to this day thanks to the excellent acting performances, but it doesn’t feel as connected to the rest of the MCU universe as it once was. Its $150 million budget earned a solid profit but other Thor movies did better at the box office.

8 Ant-Man (2015): $519 Million

With only a $130 million budget, Ant-Man was profiled from the start as a smaller, more down-to-Earth MCU movie. His box office gross fits the description. While the movie managed to entertain the audiences and introduced a very sympathetic hero, Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang, the story’s stakes were pretty low in comparison to other movies, yet it still works even for a re-watch.

Then again, not every MCU movie has to focus on saving the entire world or even the universe. And Ant-Man would go on to play a more prominent part in the MCU because it was thanks to him that the Avengers were able to travel in time and reverse the snap.

7 Iron Man (2008): $585 Million

Today it’s difficult to imagine the first Iron Man movie not reaching the $1 billion mark or at least coming close to it. However, back in 2008, the beginning of the MCU was a gamble to a certain point as it wasn’t clear how the audiences would respond.

Fortunately for all superhero fans, they loved the movie and the rest is history. So even though Iron Man didn’t make as much money as other MCU movies, it’s still highly significant because, without it, there would be no MCU.

6 Ant-Man And The Wasp (2018): $622 Million

A box office gross of $622 million is something many movies can only dream of, but it’s an average number when it comes to the MCU movies. Just like its predecessor, Ant-Man and the Wasp is a smaller movie in the context of the MCU, meaning it doesn’t take on a space-level threat.

The civil nature of the movie also reflects its profit, which is still respectable but not record-breaking, unlike other MCU movies. At least it explains the question of where Scott Lang was during the events of Infinity War and everything that followed.

5 Iron Man 2 (2010): $623 Million

Making just over a million more than Ant-Man and the Wasp, Iron Man 2 cost $200 million to make and made over three times more.

The sequel isn’t remembered as fondly as the first movie, but it still has many strong moments and also introduced a highly important character. Iron Man 2 is the first time fans saw Natasha Romanoff appear on the scene, and it also gave more space to Nick Fury, which speaks in its favor.

4 Thor: The Dark World (2013): $644 Million

It’s somewhat ironic that the second Thor solo movie Thor: The Dark World earned a larger box office gross than many of its predecessors as well as successors. The reason for this is that it’s universally seen as one of the weakest MCU movies. It offers a forgettable plot and generic action scenes.

The movie has its strong moments, but it lacks the character depth of the first movie and the comedy timing of the third movie. Still, the fans were happy to see Thor again and brought the movie a decent, albeit not record-breaking box office gross of 644 million.

3 Doctor Strange (2016): $677 Million

Despite the positive reviews and Benedict Cumberbatch’s strong performance in the leading role, Doctor Strange’s first solo movie wasn’t the most profitable picture of the MCU. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Doctor Strange isn’t as known to the general audience as other Marvel heroes, such as Spider-Man.

MCU origin stories also often don’t earn as much money, as other movies could attest. The movie also holds another not-so-positive record - it took Doctor Strange the longest time yet of all MCU superheroes to get a sequel! Usually, the sequel of their solo adventures followed in 2-3 years but for Doctor Strange, it was 6 years!

2 Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014): $714 Million

The second Captain America solo movie very nearly doubled the first movie’s profit, proving that the fans preferred seeing Captain America’s 21st-century adventure. It helped that the movie managed to build a strong atmosphere and featured another iconic superhero, Black Widow.

It also brought back Bucky Barnes aka the Winter Soldier who would go on to become an important part of the MCU. So even though Captain America: The Winter Soldier didn’t break the one billion dollar threshold, its box office gross was still high enough to warrant a sequel two years later, Captain America: Civil War.

1 Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014): $772 Million

Before the movie premiered, it wasn’t clear whether it would be successful since this was MCU’s first space opera. However, even though a lot of people weren’t familiar with the characters before, they enjoyed the fast-paced, action-filled funny story populated with unique heroes and villains alike.

The main antagonist of the movie, Ronan the Accuser, wasn’t as fleshed-out as other MCU villains, but Guardians of the Galaxy still scored solid 772 million dollars at the box office. That makes it the highest-ranking movie of the MCU movies with the lowest box office gross.

More: Every Guillermo Del Toro Movie, Ranked By Their Box Office Performance