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NEW YORK (AP) -- Marvel Studios' "Thunderbolts" opened with $76 million in domestic ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday, kicking off the summer box office with a solid No. 1 debut that fell shy of Marvel's more spectacular launches.
All eyes had been on whether "Thunderbolts" -- a team-up of antihero rejects similar to "Avengers" -- could restore the Walt Disney Co. superhero factory to the kind of box office performance the studio once enjoyed so regularly. The results - similar to the debuts of "The Eternals" ($71 million) and "Ant-Man and the Wasp" ($75 million) -- suggested Marvel's malaise won't be so easy to snap out of.
Some had expected a bigger opening for "Thunderbolts" because of the film's good word-of-mouth. Unlike most recent MCU entries, reviews (88% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) have been excellent for "Thunderbolts," directed by Jake Schreier and starring Florence Pugh, David Harbour and Sebastian Stan. Audiences gave it an "A-" CinemaScore.
That kind of response should power the movie to strong business in the coming weeks. Though bigger MCU films -- including 2024's "Deadpool vs. Wolverine" (with a $211 million opening on the way to $1.34 billion worldwide) -- have monopolized movie screens immediately, "Thunderbolts" could gather steam more steadily. Or, it could go down as another example of Marvel struggling to rekindle its golden touch.