This year, only a handful of films are positioned to challenge Avengers: Doomsday for the 2026 box office crown. Seven years have passed since the last Avengers installment hit theaters, following the record-shattering success of Avengers: Endgame. Since then, the MCU has seen a patchy run at the box office, struggling to match the consistent highs of its 2010s heyday. Despite that, Doomsday is widely expected to dominate globally unless one of these five contenders rises to the occasion.
Marvel Studios is clearly pulling out all the stops to make Doomsday an unmissable event. They've got Robert Downey Jr. coming out of MCU retirement, the Russo brothers returning to helm their fifth MCU film, and Chris Evans returning as Steve Rogers alongside a mix of MCU veterans and classic Fox X-Men icons like Patrick Stewart's Professor X and Ian McKellen's Magneto.
It's hard to imagine this not being a massive hit, just look at how No Way Home, Multiverse of Madness, and even Deadpool & Wolverine leveraged nostalgia and multiverse chaos to dominate the box office post-pandemic.
That said, Doomsday isn't totally unchallenged. It opens head-to-head with Timothée Chalamet's third Dune, and a handful of other big-budget studio releases could still wrestle away that coveted #1 spot worldwide.
Contenders to Take Down Avengers 5
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie - April 1
Wahoo! Video game movies are having a serious moment, and leading the charge is none other than Mario himself.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is star-spinning into theaters in less than a month, and the hype is already off the charts. In the U.S. alone, early tracking suggests the sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie could pull in over $175 million in its five-day opening weekend.
Nintendo has leaned hard into the nostalgia and spectacle, celebrating a full library of its iconic games while keeping the spotlight on Galaxy. Brie Larson joins as the voice of Rosalina, adding some extra star power for longtime fans.
Considering the first movie raked in $1.3 billion globally, this sequel is practically a lock for a monster total, and with the latest trailers lighting up social media and presales flying off the digital shelves, it wouldn't be a shock if studios spent all of 2026 trying (and failing) to catch Mario at the box office.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day - July 31
When it comes to 2026, Spider-Man might just be the safest bet in the Marvel universe, and Brand New Day isn't here to play it safe.
After the mind-blowing swing of No Way Home, Sony Pictures and Disney are doubling down, bringing back an ensemble of Marvel characters.
The film is loaded with villains, an enraged Hulk once again played by Mark Ruffalo, and a story that feels self-contained, separate from MCU misfires like The Marvels, Eternals, or Secret Invasion.
That balance is what makes Spider-Man uniquely positioned: it can lean on the MCU's interconnected world without being weighed down by stories that didn’t land.
No Way Home already proved the formula, grossing $1.9 billion in 2021 without even opening in China. In 2026, with more people leaving home to see movies in theaters and a wide release in China, it's impossible to count out Brand New Day from claiming the top spot at the worldwide box office.
Long Shot Chances to Dethrone Doom
Toy Story 5 - June 19
While Toy Story 5 might not quite reach the stratospheric heights of Avengers: Doomsday, it'd be foolish to totally rule it out.
Pixar's most iconic (and lucrative) franchise has a history of blockbuster success, with the last two films each crossing the $1 billion mark, and the first teaser has already won over some skeptics, offering an exciting glimpse of a nuanced story in which a tablet is the new villain.
Pixar sequels have proven they can dominate the box office. Inside Out 2 was 2024's top earner, even outpacing an MCU entry, Deadpool & Wolverine.
And sticking with animation, Disney's Zootopia 2 shattered records in 2025 as the year's highest-grossing film. The trend is clear: animated sequels are on fire, and Toy Story 5 is positioned to carry that momentum into 2026.
Moana (Live Action) - July 10
Setting aside controversial misfires like Snow White, Disney's live-action remakes of animated classics have generally been a reliable box office machine.
Pair that formula with Moana, which has become one of Disney's biggest modern franchises, and you have a film that could seriously surprise people in 2026.
Moana 2 already proved the brand's strength by crossing the $1 billion mark in 2024, especially impressive considering the project originally started life as a Disney+ series before Disney pivoted it into a theatrical release that audiences fully embraced.
The live-action Moana also checks several major boxes for a box office hit. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson returns as Maui in live-action, while the film arrives 10 years after the original, tapping into nostalgia for audiences who grew up with it.
Add in revamped versions of the movie's beloved songs and the kind of family-friendly spectacle that plays especially well worldwide, and Disney could have another massive crowd-pleaser on its hands this summer.
Wild Card
The Odyssey - July 17
The Odyssey earns a spot on this list purely out of respect for Christopher Nolan, who can't be underestimated.
This is his follow-up to Oppenheimer, a three-hour, R-rated political drama that somehow grossed nearly $1 billion at the box office in 2023 and picked up seven Oscars along the way. Yep, definitely can't underestimate Nolan.
For 2026, Nolan is assembling another stacked cast led by Matt Damon, Tom Holland, and Anne Hathaway, alongside many more big-name stars.
The story itself is far more commercial, adapting Homer's ancient Greek epic about Odysseus' long journey home, complete with massive sea voyages, mythological monsters, and the kind of sweeping scale Nolan loves to put on the biggest screens possible.
As one of Hollywood's biggest advocates for the theatrical experience, Nolan's films are now events by default, and The Odyssey is already near the top of many moviegoers' must-see lists for 2026.
