Heroic indifference: was Thunderbolts* always doomed at the box office?

A cast of indie darlings and the critics’ seal of approval hasn’t saved this supervillain spin-off – but that asterisk is a sign of monumental instalments to come

There’s no such thing as a sure thing in Hollywood. Just ask Marvel Studios – once the box office equivalent of a cashpoint duct-taped to a golden goose, now resembling a busted slot machine in Skegness. Reports this week suggest that Thunderbolts*, the studio’s latest attempt to turn supervillain also-rans into marquee gold, has officially faceplanted at the box office despite strong reviews, a cast stacked with rising stars and indie darlings, and enough emotional baggage to ground a Sundance drama.

In theory, Jake Schreier’s rowdy ensemble piece had it all: Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell’s jawline, a marketing campaign whispering “this isn’t your dad’s Marvel film”, and the sort of melancholic indie sheen that usually comes free with a Bon Iver soundtrack. Critics even liked it. And yet audiences, perhaps stung by a mercurial ride for the once pristine superhero studio simply couldn’t be bothered to find out what all the fuss was about. With a production and marketing tab pushing $275m (£203m), Thunderbolts* needed to soar like Iron Man. Instead, Variety suggests its $371m (£273m) global take after six weeks in multiplexes is likely to leave it some way short of the $425m (£313m) the film needs to break even by the time it slips quietly on to Disney+.