Thunderbolts* premieres with A- CinemaScore rating

Just yesterday, the Marvel Cinematic Universe released Thunderbolts* in theaters, and today, we got to know it now has an A- rating at CinemaScore, just short of the recent A-lister, Sinners, on the platform. Interestingly, the former film is about a bunch of former sinners only; the coincidence is just real.

The film had already made $11.5 million in previews, as Variety's Jordan Moreau reports, with expectations of around $70 million in earnings at the domestic box office in its opening weekend. Internationally, that number increases to around $160 million.

The last MCU film, Captain America: Brave New World, opened to $88.8 million domestically. However, it wasn't a spectacle as fans would've hoped for, but it did establish the fact that the "others" are coming in from the multiverse. We saw something like that in Thunderbolts*, but we aren't sure if that qualifies as "others." Now the multiverse will truly open with Avengers: Doomsday.

How is Thunderbolts* compared to the other MCU films at CinemaScore?

The film was released on May 2, 2025, in the US. (Image via Marvel Entertainment)

Thunderbolts* is the 36th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it has its highs and lows. Some films we don't want to forget; some, we don't even want to remember they exist. However, they still are necessary for the bigger picture, and creators aren't forgetting it. Brave New World is one example of how it is connected to The Incredible Hulk and Eternals recently.

CinemaScore has maintained a record for how they appealed to the audiences so we thought we'd just mention them here. Take a look:

A-listers of the MCU

Iron Man (2008)
The Incredible Hulk (2008) (-)
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) (-)
The Avengers (2012) (+)
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Thor: The Dark World (2013) (-)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Ant-Man (2015)
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Doctor Strange (2016)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 (2017)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Black Panther (2018) (+)
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) (-)
Captain Marvel (2019)
Avengers: Endgame (2019) (+)
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Black Widow (2021) (-)
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2022) (+)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
Thunderbolts* (2025) (-)

B-listers of the MCU

Thor (2011) (+)
Eternals (2021)
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) (+)
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) (+)
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
The Marvels (2023)
Captain America: Brave New World (2025) (-)

What's next in the MCU after Thunderbolts*?

The Fantastic Four: First Steps will follow after Thunderbolts*. (Image via Marvel Entertainment)

With Jake Schreier's film, we bid farewell to Phase Five, and now it's time for The Fantastic Four: First Steps in July 2025 to kick off Phase Six of the MCU. A couple more movies will follow after that in the following year, Avengers: Doomsday and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. In 2027, we will see the Multiverse Saga conclude with Avengers: Secret Wars.

Kevin Feige has planned more films after this; that roster includes Armor Wars, Black Panther 3, Blade, and more.