Every MCU Phase, Ranked by Total Box Office Earnings

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has become a major force in the film industry since its start in 2008. It changed how blockbuster movies are made by connecting different stories and characters in one big world. This universe is organized into “Phases,” with each phase telling a part of a larger story. The success of these phases is often measured by how much money they make at the box office worldwide.

Looking at the box office numbers for each phase shows how the MCU has grown and changed over time. Some phases reached incredible financial success, with multiple movies earning over a billion dollars. Other phases had more modest results, sometimes due to things like a global pandemic or audiences feeling tired of superhero movies. This ranking is based purely on the total money each phase earned from its movies in theaters.

Phase Three (2016–2019)

Phase Three is the highest-grossing phase of the MCU by a large margin. With eleven movies, this phase earned over $13 billion at the global box office. It includes some of the most successful superhero movies ever made, such as Avengers: Endgame (2019), which briefly became the highest-grossing film of all time. Six of the eleven films in this phase crossed the one-billion-dollar mark.

This period of the MCU was the peak of the Infinity Saga. It started with Captain America: Civil War (2016) and introduced new fan-favorite characters like Black Panther and Doctor Strange. The phase concluded with the massive crossover events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), which brought together a decade of storytelling and characters in a way that attracted huge audiences worldwide.

Phase Four (2021–2022)

Phase Four holds the second spot, earning around $5.7 billion from seven movies. This phase had the challenge of following the massive success of Phase Three and launching a new saga after the conclusion of the Infinity Stones storyline. It also faced difficulties from the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected movie theater attendance.

Despite these challenges, Phase Four delivered some major box office hits. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) was a standout success, earning nearly $2 billion globally and becoming the highest-grossing Spider-Man film. Other successful films in this phase include Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022).

Phase Two (2013–2015)

Phase Two comes in third place with a total box office of approximately $5.2 billion across six films. This phase was focused on building on the success of The Avengers and expanding the cosmic side of the MCU. It continued the stories of established heroes while introducing new ones that would become central to the franchise.

Key movies in this phase include Iron Man 3 (2013) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), both of which earned over $1 billion. Phase Two also saw the successful introduction of the Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), a group of lesser-known characters that became a surprise hit and a beloved part of the MCU.

Phase One (2008–2012)

As the foundation of the entire MCU, Phase One earned a total of $3.8 billion from its six movies. This phase was a big experiment, introducing individual superheroes in their own films before bringing them together in a large-scale team-up event. It started with Iron Man (2008) and set the tone for the entire cinematic universe.

The success of Phase One was solidified by The Avengers (2012), which was the first MCU film to make over $1.5 billion. This movie proved that the idea of a shared cinematic universe could be a massive financial success and set the stage for all the phases that followed.

Phase Five (2023–2025)

Phase Five is the lowest-grossing phase so far, with a total of about $3.6 billion from its six theatrical releases. This phase continued the Multiverse Saga but struggled to match the box office performance of earlier phases. It faced mixed reviews for some of its films and the challenge of “superhero fatigue” among some audiences.

The highest-earning film of this phase was Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), which brought in over a billion dollars. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) was another strong performer. However, other films in the phase did not meet box office expectations, leading to a lower overall total than even the first phase of the MCU.