The Marvel Cinematic Universe didn’t just redefine superhero films. It built a box office legacy that has changed how Hollywood operates. Starting from 2008’s Iron Man, the MCU expanded its scope, tightened its storytelling, and brought together characters and timelines in unimaginable ways. Each phase marked a different chapter with distinct themes, risks, and directions. And with every step, the box office stakes kept getting higher.

As new phases introduced multiversal chaos, legacy characters, cosmic stakes, and deeper connections to streaming, the financial performance varied more than ever. Some phases broke global records, bringing in billions and becoming defining cultural events. Though still successful by industry standards, others fell short of MCU’s historic highs.

Here’s a breakdown of all MCU phases ranked strictly by worldwide box office collections, not critical reception, cultural impact, or fan rankings, just the total numbers they brought to the table. All the numbers in the article are as per Box Office Mojo.

Phase Three was Marvel at its peak, both in terms of audience interest and box office dominance. It launched with Captain America: Civil War and closed with Spider-Man: Far From Home, featuring massive crossover events like Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the latter briefly becoming the highest-grossing film of all time. The phase also introduced Doctor Strange, Black Panther, and Captain Marvel, the latter two earning over each. Across 11 films, the phase grossed over worldwide and sealed Marvel’s reputation as the most profitable franchise in cinematic history. As a matter of fact, the two Avengers movies of this phase combined grossed almost a billion more than Phase 1 and Phase 5 each.

Despite pandemic-related disruptions and mixed critical reception, Phase Four still delivered impressive box office returns. With seven theatrical releases, including Black Widow, Shang-Chi, Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the phase raked in globally. No Way Home alone grossed nearly becoming the highest-earning Spider-Man movie of all time. Streaming content on Disney+ complemented theatrical runs but did not contribute to box office totals. Worth mentioning is the fact that despite a total gross higher than Phase Two, Phase Four lagged behind in terms of average collection per movie.

Phase Two was about building momentum. Beginning with Iron Man 3, which opened Phase Two with a haul, and ending with Ant-Man, this six-film stretch introduced pivotal characters like the Guardians of the Galaxy and expanded the MCU’s cosmic scale. It featured the first Avengers sequel, Age of Ultron, and laid the groundwork for the major conflicts of Phase Three. Collectively, these films brought in , securing Marvel’s global domination post-Avengers.

The foundation. Phase One was Marvel’s first major gamble. Six films across four years culminated in the experimental but massively successful Avengers (2012), which became the third film to gross over . Starting with Iron Man and closing with Avengers, the phase was built on relatively modest budgets and untested character IPs. Despite that, it earned worldwide and set up everything that followed. It proved audiences were ready for interconnected storytelling on the big screen.

Phase Five came to a theatrical conclusion with the release of Thunderbolts*. While the Phase included five sequels, it failed to reach the box office success of its predecessors. Deadpool & Wolverine was the crown jewel of this phase with, while Guardians of the Galaxy 3 followed closely with These two movies combined for around of the whole Phase, while the remaining four movies suffered in the theatres, probably due to the superhero fatigue since the end of the Infinity saga.

Note: Box office numbers are based on estimates and various sources. Numbers have not been independently verified by Koimoi.

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