With eight theatrical releases on the horizon, the next era of the Marvel Studios slate is already shaping up to take back the box office battle. Even after an undeniably underwhelming 2025, the MCU remains the franchise in Hollywood with the most box office potential, especially if you include Spider-Man. That said, not every upcoming installment carries the same commercial upside, making their projected financial performance a fascinating comparison.
At this point, just a few months into 2026, no one is surprised to hear that Marvel Studios is dialing back its previously aggressive output.
A lot of the blame can be placed on the investment in streaming, where Disney+ projects like Secret Invasion, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Echo, and others haven't exactly been crowd-pleasers.
Kevin Feige has reportedly shifted much of his sole focus toward the two upcoming Avengers films, which isn’t a huge surprise considering they’re widely viewed as make-or-break when it comes to the future of the entire cinematic universe.
Once sitting comfortably at the top of the global box office mountain, Marvel is now trying to climb back up. And it's a steep one, especially after commercial disappointments like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Marvels, and Thunderbolts*.
The good news? With output reduced and more attention on quality control, every confirmed, expected, or even heavily rumored film now feels like a sure thing at the box office.
Upcoming MCU Movies Ranked by Box Office Potential
Avengers: Secret Wars
It's safe to say Avengers: Secret Wars (filming later this year) is expected to be one of the highest-grossing films of all time. At least, that's probably the expectation at Marvel Studios.
Releasing on December 17, 2027, most of this film's success, especially its ceiling, will be the result of 2026's Avengers: Doomsday. Marvel is looking to repeat the same recipe from Infinity War and Endgame, which were also released in successive years, acting as a two-part narrative.
Secret Wars, from a commercial standpoint, will draw comparisons to Endgame, which grossed over $2.7 billion globally, the second-highest in cinema history.
It'd be unfair to expect the same result, given that Marvel Studios was at the peak of its powers in 2019, and the same cannot be said in 2026, with Kevin Feige looking to earn fan trust back with other potentially huge box office winners.
Avengers: Doomsday
The weight of the entire Marvel Studios enterprise is riding on the return of the Russo Brothers and Robert Downey Jr. in Avengers: Doomsday on December 18.
All three MCU films underperforming (to different degrees) in 2025 was a huge red flag. This is especially true when all three movies have characters set to return in Doomsday.
For Doomsday, there are several challenges ahead, including making sense of the Multiverse Saga, which, for many fans, has gone on too long, and alternate dimension fatigue is setting in.
Also, the culmination of heroes feels less organic than before, with many set to meet for the first time. That concern, however, pales in comparison to the film's main selling point: RDJ back as the villainous Doctor Doom. If fans don't buy into this grand return of the long-time Tony Stark actor to the MCU, this film will not be a success.
In light of all those concerns, Doomsday is still expected to be the highest-earning film of 2026, unless a certain web-head spoils Disney's plans.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
It's incredible how much can change in a decade. After The Amazing Spider-Man 2 disappointed Sony Pictures in 2014, the studio made what felt like an unprecedented and, at the time, borderline desperate decision to fold a rebooted Spider-Man into Marvel Studios' carefully constructed MCU.
It worked. Maybe a little too well.
One Tom Holland-led trilogy later, Spider-Man looks like a safer theatrical bet in the 2020s than even the Avengers brand.
There was a time when the character needed Disney's machine to stay relevant. Now, there's a real argument that Disney needs Spider-Man to regain momentum.
Financially, Sony still benefits the most from these shared films, so Spider-Man: Brand New Day will primarily boost Sony's bottom line, but in terms of optics, it could do wonders for the MCU's overall public perception.
There's very little doubt about Brand New Day's commercial ceiling. A $1 billion global haul feels less like optimism and more like the baseline expectation, especially with the film expected to secure a China release.
2021's No Way Home earned a staggering $1.92 billion worldwide without playing in China, so Brand New Day has a legitimate chance of being the biggest movie of the year.
Deadpool 4
While nothing is officially dated yet, a fourth Ryan Reynolds-led Deadpool film feels less like a question of "if" and more like "when," with most signs pointing to a post-Avengers: Secret Wars release window.
Reynolds' Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman's Wolverine are set to ride the momentum coming off Deadpool & Wolverine, joining the Avengers films.
That 2024 blockbuster, notably the first Disney-produced film to feature X-Men characters formerly controlled by 20th Century Fox, could not have gone better for everyone involved.
Deadpool & Wolverine became the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time and a full-blown fan event, reviving Jackman's Wolverine and proving that the Merc with a Mouth is one of Marvel's most valuable big-screen assets of the 2020s.
If Deadpool 4 leans even further into crossover territory with other MCU heavy hitters, it's hard to see it landing anywhere below the billion-dollar mark.
Black Panther 3
A third Black Panther film under Ryan Coogler is one of Marvel's safest long-term bets.
2018's Black Panther was a cultural phenomenon, grossing $1.3 billion worldwide, while Wakanda Forever earned a still-strong $859.2 million despite a far more complicated theatrical landscape and the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman.
Reports suggest Black Panther 3 could open Phase 7 in February 2028, possibly the first MCU film of the next era.
There is also growing chatter that a new Wakandan protector may be introduced in Avengers: Secret Wars, with Letitia Wright's Shuri potentially sharing the mantle rather than stepping away from it entirely.
Given the brand's global strength and built-in audience goodwill, reaching another billion-dollar run isn’t guaranteed, but it's absolutely within reach.
X-Men
If there's one franchise poised to define the MCU after the Multiverse Saga, it's the X-Men. A new X-Men film is already dated for 2028, with Jake Schreier (fresh off Thunderbolts*) set to direct and a script from Michael Lesslie, whose most recent credit includes Now You See Me: Now You Don't.
Thanks to Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox, Marvel now has access to more than 150 mutant and mutant-adjacent characters, an entire mythology that can anchor the next decade plus of storytelling.
Even after two distinct eras of X-Men films dating back to 2000, there's genuine excitement about seeing a fully integrated version in the MCU. Rumors already point to Sadie Sink entering the fold as Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which only adds fuel to the fire.
That said, a billion dollars feels ambitious. No traditional ensemble X-Men movie has ever crossed that line.
But in today's market, a well-received reboot landing somewhere in the $700–900 million range is completely realistic.
Doctor Strange 3
Coming off the massive success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness rode that momentum to an impressive $955.7 million global haul in 2022.
That kind of number naturally set expectations high, which is why some fans were frustrated to learn that a third installment wasn't slated to arrive before the next Avengers event or even positioned between Doomsday and Secret Wars. Still, all signs point to the conclusion of Benedict Cumberbatch's trilogy landing in 2028 or later.
Realistically, Doctor Strange 3 probably won't replicate the near-billion-dollar surge of Multiverse of Madness. But it remains one of Marvel's stronger standalone brands. From a pure risk-reward standpoint, it's exactly the type of sequel Marvel can confidently greenlight.
In the meantime, Strange's arc is expected to continue in Doomsday and Secret Wars, keeping him central to the larger MCU narrative.
Shang-Chi 2
A sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings remains one of the more baffling loose ends of Marvel's post-Endgame era. The original film was widely praised, introduced a compelling new corner of the universe, and posted solid box-office numbers despite releasing during a global pandemic.
On paper, Shang-Chi 2 has always felt like an easy greenlight, which makes the continued silence around it all the more confusing.
At least Simu Liu is confirmed to return in Avengers: Doomsday, giving the character another crack at the big screen. While this is nice and helps the idea for a future sequel, it's no guarantee.
Part of the holdup may be behind the camera. Destin Daniel Cretton is now focused on Spider-Man: Brand New Day and its potential follow-ups, which could mean Marvel needs fresh leadership for Shang-Chi to move forward.
