The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a remarkable achievement in film. It is a multi-billion-dollar phenomenon built on interconnected storytelling and beloved characters. Its success is clear. However, not every film has hit the mark. Within this vast saga are movies that, for various reasons, did not fully take advantage of their great ideas, interesting characters, or strong performances.
These films aren’t all “flops” in the usual financial sense; many made money. Still, they show moments of lost potential, where a weak script, studio interference, or a mismatch in tone left audiences and critics feeling that greatness was just out of reach. These are the films that promised much but offered less, leaving behind a lingering question of “what if?”
Here is a recap of the five major films from the MCU, all movies, and a summary of how they performed, and the special attention towards the standout film that failed tremendously.
5. Iron Man 2 (2010)
- Budget: Approximately $200 million+
- Box Office: $558 million worldwide,
Iron Man 2 suffered from the ever-popular “sequel-itis” under the immense pressure of setting up a wider universe. This film is much less under the weight of its ambitions and actually less of a story for Tony Stark and more of a commercial for the Avengers. Its actual plot, which could have been a riveting story of legacy and health issues, keeps getting distracted by S.H.I.E.L.D. exposition, introductions of Black Widow, and Thor setup.
The real tragedy was the lack of utilization of its antagonist, Ivan Vanko, a.k.a. Whiplash. Vanko, brought to life by Mickey Rourke, was a man with a very real grudge and deeply personal vendetta against the Stark family. That could have been an incredibly dark and intimate rivalry. Instead, he gets shoved to the sidelines for most of the picture and is finished off in an utterly conventional and CGI-packed climax. This film wasted a powerhouse of a performance and, even more so, a gritty, personal conflict in favour of universe-building, causing it to feel more like a duty than a passion.
4. The Marvels (2023)
- Budget: Approximately $274 million
- Box Office: $206.1 million
The clearest example of an occasion for squandered potential turned box office misfire is indeed The Marvels. The setup of three heroes, Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau, and Ms. Marvel, with intertwined powers and mismatched personalities, offers a stellar germ for a very fun team-up. Kamala Khan, through Iman Vellani, was downright a pleasure to watch. Iman exuded energy and on-screen warmth. The sparks between the trio constitute the strongest moments within the film.
Sadly, the excellent dynamic has been thrown away on a wafer-thin plot, a forgettable villain with unclear motivations, and editing that feels so choppy as to speak of production troubles. The important character-building and emotional beats are rushed, especially for Monica Rambeau, thus depriving the audience of any connection. It wasted the promise of its three charismatic leads on a story that felt more akin to a flimsy television episode than a grand cinematic event.
3. Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
- Budget: Approximately $250 million
- Box Office: $760 million worldwide
Following the success of Thor: Ragnarok, Taika Waititi’s creative liberty was increased considerably, thus creating a movie where the comedy was sabotaging its emotional core. The movie had two very potent, serious storylines to draw from: Jane Foster’s cancer diagnosis and her becoming the Mighty Thor, and the crusade of Gorr the God Butcher.
Bale was terrifying, empathetic, and chilling as Gorr, but he got shockingly little screen time. His compelling tragedy was constantly undercut by screaming goats, love triangles, and relentless gags. The similarly rushed journey of Jane Foster, meanwhile, missed out on the emotional grandeur it never really deserved. The film wasted one of the best villain performances in the MCU on a story that was fearful of being serious, thus causing immediate stage whiplash.
2. Eternals (2021)
- Box Office: $402 million worldwide
- Budget: Approximately $200 million
Eternals, perhaps the most ambitious and divisive MCU film, chose a disparity in tone and scope different from all previous ones. Director Chloé Zhao brought this beautiful, understated visual language, while the big concepts of immortal beings questioning their purpose and their maker for millennia are truly profound.
The colossal potential was crushed under a script that had to introduce ten leads, explain their complicated mythology, and then somehow juggle a plot that spans 7,000 years. Mostly, this left many of the Eternals underwritten and the emotional stakes diluted. The philosophical musings of faith, humanity, and free will are ultimately quashed by a fairly generic third-act CGI battle. With honoured performances coming from the likes of Lauren Ridloff (Makkari) and Barry Keoghan (Druig), the film somehow becomes too ponderous for some and too formulaic for others. This neither gratifies one set of viewers nor the other, as it makes only half-hearted attempts at fulfilling its grand promise.
1. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
- Box Office: $1.4 billion worldwide
- Budget: $365 million
Avengers: Age of Ultron was a big deal; everyone was hyped to see if it could beat the last one’s score. The movie made a whopping $1.4 billion around the world, but critics weren’t all over it, and now it’s kind of seen as the not-so-great one in the Avengers lineup. The movie got kind of messed up trying to sneak in future MCU stuff like Civil War, Black Panther, and Infinity War, which made its own story less clear.
A lot of folks thought the vibe kept changing weirdly, like it was super dramatic one second and trying too hard to be funny the next. Joss Whedon, the guy who made the first superhero movie that everyone loved, got some heat for his choices and rumoured fights with the bigwigs at Marvel, especially about parts that seemed forced in for later movies. Even though they threw in some cool stuff like Vision, Wanda, and vibranium, the movie just didn’t hit the feels, feel fresh, or stick together like The Avengers did in 2012. Even though Age of Ultron did great at the box office, people kind of see it as a big sequel that was trying to be too much and ended up not really hitting the mark. This movie totally made bank, but it totally missed the mark in terms of quality or impact.
The Big Picture: Has the Marvel Cinematic Universe Lost Its Flair?
Following the towering climax of Avengers: Endgame, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has struggled to sustain the ever-shining beacon of a cultural beacon it once was. The so-called post-Infinity Saga era, comprising Phases Four and Five, just does not seem to have any defining direction to it. A glut of films and Disney+ series has diluted the branding, making it more akin to “homework” than unmissable event television.
While projects such as Spider-Man: No Way Home or Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 were able to carve out commercial success, the general standard of cinema being put out for the MCU seemed quite erratic. Along with the uninspired CGI montage used very often and with the rise of “superhero fatigue,” the ticket sales started to dip and created this impression that passing the Americas is out of the shining golden age of the MCU.
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Final Thoughts
We see a rupture in that dominance, with underwhelming financial performances and critical failures of productions that were expected to be substantial box office draws. The failure of Quantumania, The Marvels, Secret Invasion, and even Guardians Vol. 3 all serve as a signal that not every Marvel movie is above and beyond poor audience reception. With evolving audience tastes and competition evolving, we have a cautionary tale in Phase 5 of the MCU—and perhaps a crossroads moment—for future superhero cinema.
Written by Nidhi Singh