‘Thunderbolts*’ Unveils Title Asterisk In Post Opening Marketing Stunt; U.S. Box Office Debut At $74M

So what exactly did that asterisk mean after all in the Thunderbolts* title? Today, Marvel finally answered that question on its social media handles as well as in top market outdoor ads and in-theater promos.

That asterisk denotes the movie’s sub-title *The New Avengers which this ragtag group of Winter Soldier, Ghost, John Walker, Alexei Shostakov and Yelena Belova represents. They’re all expected to segue to Joe and Anthony Russo’s Avengers: Doomsday which will fire off next summer, May 1, 2026.

We hear from Disney that the studio didn’t technically re-title Thunderbolts* (that would be crazy), rather just spelled out that asterisk.

The post-opening marketing stunt comes in the wake of Thunderbolts* opening to $74M (instead of the reported $76M) after an estimated $18M Sunday, -27% from Saturday’s $24.5M. Disney will be reporting their official figure soon. The Jake Schreier directed movie had great exits with an A- CinemaScore, 94% Rotten Tomatoes Audience rating and Comscore/Screen Engine PostTrak exits of 71% definite recommend and 4 1/2 stars. Based off of that, Disney is hoping for a second weekend hold that improves upon previous less-than-$100M openers, i.e. Eternals ($71.2M, -62% second weekend drop, B CinemaScore, $164.8M final) and Captain America: Brave New World ($88.8M opening, -68% second weekend plummet, B- CinemaScore, $200.2M domestic final).

Even standees, digital signage, one sheets and PLF and Imax one sheets in the top theater NYC and LA circuits have updated to reflect the ‘new’ title of *The New Avengers.

Disney had a promo partner campaign valued at $75M for the $180M Marvel Cinematic Universe title that included Harley Davidson Motorcycles, Tide, Wheaties, Mike & Ike candies, Cupra Kiro and Formula E racing, LinkedIn, Perfect Sports and Arizona Ice Team.

Opening wide this weekend is Lionsgate’s Kerry Washington and Omar Sy action title Shadow Force and IFC’s Clown in a Cornfield.