Since Iron Man's release in 2008, Marvel Studios has produced hit after hit at the worldwide box office, creating a $30 billion franchise in the process.
Until Avatar was unexpectedly re-released during the pandemic, Avengers: Endgame was the highest-grossing movie ever released in theaters (and with Avengers Endgame: Encore fast approaching, it might regain that spot). Despite a few misses during the Multiverse Saga, the MCU remains the highest-grossing franchise ever.
With 2026 already a hugely profitable year thanks to Spider-Man: Brand New Day—Avengers: Doomsday should keep the momentum going—now seemed like a good time to round up the 10 highest-grossing MCU movies of all time and rank them from worst (even though there's not a bad movie to be found here) to best.
This is just one opinion, of course, and we're sure you'll have your own takes that we'd love to hear in the comments section below.
10. Iron Man 3 ($1,214,811,252 - #9)
The first of Marvel Studios' solo movies to gross over $1 billion, Iron Man 3 may not be fondly remembered by a lot of fans, but it was still a hit for the then still-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Shane Black was the right director to build on the comedic tone set by The Avengers, while still exploring what it means for Tony Stark to be Iron Man in the wake of Loki's attack on New York City. Iron Patriot felt a little shoehorned in, and there's no getting around the fact that Rebecca Hall was wasted as Maya Hansen.
Of course, the biggest disappointment for the majority was that big Mandarin reveal.
Iron Man 3 is still a pretty great movie overall, though, and one which we'd argue has received way too much hate since it first arrived in theaters close to a decade and a half ago. Seriously, give it a second chance!
9. Avengers: Age of Ultron ($1,405,403,694 - #6)
Avengers: Age of Ultron was a much more ambitious movie than its predecessor, but was it better? James Spader knocked it out of the park as Ultron (even if the villain was a little too snarky), while it managed to squeeze a lot into a pretty reasonable runtime.
That included the introductions of characters like the Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and The Vision, two of whom have been a crucial part of the MCU since.
The sequel was a tad directionless in places (just look at Thor's weird story arc), but there was plenty of fun to be had. It also gave us its fair share of iconic moments in this shared world, including Captain America—nearly—lifting Mjolnir, the Hulkbuster battling The Hulk, and some killer shots of the team assembled.
Joss Whedon delivered a strong follow-up here, even if not everything thrown at the wall managed to stick.
8. The Avengers ($1,518,812,988 - #5)
The Avengers may seem relatively small in scale compared to today's superhero movies, but at the time...well, this was the first time these characters ever assembled on screen.
That alone means it holds a very special place in our hearts, and while mistakes were made (Captain America's costume has to be somewhere near the top of the list), those are easy enough to forgive. Even after seeing pretty much every MCU hero teaming up in Avengers: Endgame, it's still hard not to get chills when the heroes come together here.
Throw in that Hulk redesign, the Jade Giant's battle with Thor, and Tom Hiddleston knocking it out of the park as Loki, and there's no way this shouldn't be considered a classic.
Unfortunately, several years on, it just feels a tad underwhelming in comparison to some of the other major blockbusters ranked here.
7. Deadpool & Wolverine ($1,267,643,094 - #8)
Deadpool & Wolverine demolished every record set by 2019's Joker to become the highest-grossing R-Rated movie ever released...until The Odyssey came along this summer and beat it.
Regardless, what filmmaker Shawn Levy and stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman achieved with this threequel is hard to put into words. Rather than being the final nail in the Fox-verse's coffin, it rejuvenated and, in some ways, redeemed a very hit-and-miss era of storytelling.
Crucially, the highly anticipated team-up between Wade Wilson and Logan delivered in every respect and proved to be worth the wait. Reynolds and Jackman had a blast on screen together, and Levy delivered his best work yet as a director.
Deadpool & Wolverine is deserving of its place on this list, both in terms of box office and how damn good a movie it was.
6. Captain America: Civil War ($1,153,304,495 - #10)
While Captain America: Civil War had little in common with the comic book event it borrowed its name from, seeing the Avengers square off on screen was still epic on every single level.
In some ways, we wish Marvel Studios had held off on making this until they had more heroes to make use of, but we got a phenomenal new villain in Daniel Brühl's Zemo, and it was impossible to fault the battles that did play out on screen. The Russo Brothers brought plenty of epic action to the table here and successfully introduced Spider-Man to the MCU.
That was a huge part of this movie and one that fans definitely appreciated. Yes, Spidey only had a few minutes of screen time, but we never imagined getting to see him face off with the likes of Captain America, Giant-Man, and Bucky. Seeing that happen was simply jaw-dropping.
This movie is too often overlooked by fans and is, to us, an undeniable classic.
5. Spider-Man: Brand New Day ($2,453,024,087 - #2)
The newest addition to this ranking, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has made box office history this summer. It's a funny, heartfelt, action-packed movie, delivering more than its fair share of incredible moments. With that in mind, why doesn't it place higher?
As excellent an introduction as this was for Jean Grey, it's still a little hard to reconcile with the fact that the movie didn't feature a Spider-Man villain in a leading role. Seeing Spidey alongside The Punisher was a blast, as were those web-swinging scenes, and this is undoubtedly one of the web-slinger's best movies.
However, it faces incredible tough competition here, and is only slightly beaten to the next spots by MCU movies that are considered classics. With time, Spider-Man: Brand New Day may also achieve that status.
Still, none of that takes anything away from what a superb movie this is. Filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton did right by Spidey and set the stage for what should be a spectacular new trilogy.
4. Avengers: Infinity War ($2,048,359,754 - #3)
Avengers: Infinity War is a very busy movie, but the Russo Brothers somehow made it work (even though it was just setting up a much bigger story in the sequel).
While it split Earth's Mightiest Heroes up across the MCU, that meant getting to see some unexpected character interactions like Spider-Man and Doctor Strange hanging out with the Guardians of the Galaxy. There's just so much to love about this movie, with Black Panther leading the charge in Wakanda serving as an undeniable highlight.
Josh Brolin, meanwhile, delivered one of this franchise's best villains to date with Thanos, an incredible VFX creation who was in many ways more fun to follow than the Avengers themselves.
Of course, it's that jaw-dropping ending we'll never forget. Killing off half the characters we love was a ballsy move on Marvel's part, but one that worked perfectly.
3. Black Panther ($1,346,913,171 - #7)
This was a masterpiece and the first Marvel Studios movie to be nominated for "Best Picture" at the Oscars.
Honestly, Black Panther should have won, and the late, great Chadwick Boseman put himself on the map with an incredible take on T'Challa that resonated with people in a way that's seen the actor achieve "icon" status. "Wakanda Forever" became more than just a catchphrase, and both the actor and character inspired people of all races across the globe.
This was a special movie, and one that director Ryan Coogler ensured left a lasting impact. Michael B. Jordan was every bit as good as Boseman, and the visuals here were breathtaking.
It feels wrong not to put this at the top of our ranking, but the next two movies made just as big an impact, albeit in very different ways.
2. Spider-Man: No Way Home ($1,926,899,310 - #4)
Spider-Man: No Way Home had a highly secretive marketing campaign that built excitement to a point where everyone was desperate to see whether Tom Holland's web-slinger would share the screen with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. Just the return of those familiar villains alone was exciting, though, so it's no wonder this movie broke box office records.
When the epic final chapter in Jon Watts' Spider-Man trilogy swung into theaters, it proved to be an emotional rollercoaster and a spectacular team-up fans could have only dreamed they would one day see in the MCU.
Generating serious Oscar buzz, this fan-pleasing hit may have saved the big screen experience and delivered the sort of moments that had fans standing up and cheering in multiplexes. Yes, restrictions caused by COVID mean it's flawed in places, but seeing the three live-action Spider-Men battling the likes of Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus was just amazing.
We nearly put this at #1, but our next entry just managed to pip it to the top spot.
1. Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,800,564 - #1)
Marvel Studios' highest-grossing movie is also its best.
Avengers: Endgame told a story on a scale unlike anything else we've ever seen on the big screen, taking us on a trip through time and boldly killing off some beloved characters in the process. Simply put, there are too many highlights to mention, though the "Portals" scene has become nothing short of iconic.
In this movie, we also bid farewell to Iron Man in one of the MCU's most emotional scenes, while seeing Captain America fight his past self...well, it was awesome. That final battle, in particular, was packed full of unforgettable moments, and as a conclusion to the "Infinity Saga," Marvel Studios really couldn't have delivered a better ending than this.
It's going to take a lot to top this in terms of fan service, pure storytelling quality, and box office, so all eyes will now be on Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.