So what exactly did that asterisk mean after all in the Thunderbolts* title? On Monday, Marvel finally answered that question on its social media handles as well as in outdoor ads and in-theater promos in the top markets.
Th asterisk denotes the movie’s subtitle *The New Avengers, which the movie’s 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.
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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 $74 million (instead of the reported $76M) after an estimated $18M Sunday, off 27% from Saturday’s $24.5M. Disney will be reporting its 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 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).
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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 Tea.
Opening wide this weekend is Lionsgate’s Kerry Washington and Omar Sy action title Shadow Force and IFC’s Clown in a Cornfield.