Disney CEO Bob Iger has declared Thunderbolts the “first and best example” of Marvel’s renewed focus on quality over quantity—even as the film delivered the lowest summer kickoff opening weekend in MCU history. In a way he’s right. The film’s quality has been praised by critics and viewers alike, but it hasn’t made a large quantity of money.
Speaking during Wednesday’s quarterly earnings call, Iger acknowledged what many critics and fans have been saying for years: Disney’s content machine, particularly under Marvel Studios, prioritized volume over value. He admitted that the company “lost a little focus” by overextending across film and streaming, producing too much too quickly.
Bob Iger | 2019 Disney Legends Awards Ceremony | D23 EXPO 2019. Photo Credit: nagi usano from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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“We all know that in our zeal to flood our streaming platform with more content, that we turned to all of our creative engines, including Marvel, and had them produce a lot more,” Iger said during the call. “We’ve also learned over over time that quantity does not necessarily beget quality. And frankly, we’ve all admitted to ourselves that we lost a little focus by making too much. By consolidating a bit and having Marvel focus much more on their films, we believe that will result in better quality. I think the first and best example is Thunderbolts. I feel very good about that.”
Iger’s comments arrive as Thunderbolts—recently rebranded in marketing as The New Avengers—struggles to make a case for commercial success. The film’s final domestic opening weekend total came in at $74.3 million, underperforming even initial projections and placing it below Shang-Chi ($75.4M) and Black Widow ($80M). It still outpaced Eternals ($71.3M), but not by much.
Bucky in Marvels Thunderbolts* – YouTube, Marvel Entertainment
What makes this performance especially striking is that ticket prices are higher than ever. Compared to 2008’s Iron Man, which launched the MCU with a $98.6 million summer opening, Thunderbolts sold far fewer tickets despite far higher per-ticket earnings, highlighting just how much audience demand has slipped.
Iger Spins a Loss as a Win
While critics (and Bob Iger) have responded favorably to Thunderbolts—the film holds an 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes and an A- CinemaScore—there’s no denying the box office reality. Disney is now in the position of needing to reframe underperformance as progress, and Iger’s endorsement of Thunderbolts is part of that narrative shift.
Jonathan Majors as Kang The Conqueror in Marvel Studios‘ ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2023 MARVEL
By pointing to the film as a new direction for Marvel, Iger is essentially acknowledging the mistakes of the last several years (without actually using the word “mistake”). Franchise entries like Quantumania, The Marvels, and Captain America: Brave New World failed to meet expectations, both critically and financially, despite carrying some of Marvel’s biggest characters.
In contrast, Thunderbolts was built around lesser-known names and a grittier tone. That alone may have helped the studio position it as a “fresh start”—even if audiences still weren’t fully on board.
A Familiar Pattern From a Rival Studio
The situation mirrors something that happened across the aisle at DC. In 2020, Warner Bros. made the unusual decision to rename Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) after its disappointing opening weekend. The film was rebranded as Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey in ticketing systems and marketing to boost recognition and improve turnout.
Harley Quinn in The DCEU – YouTube, Warner Bros. Pictures
Much like Thunderbolts, Birds of Prey had positive reviews but underperformed due to unclear marketing and a title that didn’t resonate. Now, Marvel is taking a similar path—repositioning Thunderbolts as The New Avengers mid-release in what many interpret as a brand recovery effort.
It’s not the kind of move Marvel used to make. But it may now be the kind of move it has to make.
Betting Big on 2026
Looking ahead, Iger expressed strong confidence in Disney’s upcoming theatrical slate. He pointed to films like Zootopia 2, Fantastic Four: First Steps, and Avatar: Fire and Ash, as well as 2026 titles like The Mandalorian and Grogu, Toy Story 5, and Avengers: Doomsday.
“That’s quite a lineup,” Iger said. “It’s as strong as any slate that I’ve seen in a long time.”
Bob Iger via CNBC Television YouTube
While optimism is a key part of any investor presentation, the underlying tension remains: Disney is still trying to recapture the momentum of 2019, when it dominated the global box office with seven billion-dollar releases and over $11 billion in worldwide grosses.
But that was before streaming saturation, franchise fatigue, and a fractured post-2020 theatrical market. Whether Iger’s vision of a new era for Marvel comes to pass may depend on whether audiences accept Thunderbolts as a sign of improvement—or more of the same with a different name.
What do you think about Bob Iger and his comments on Thunderbolts. Sound off in the comments and let us know!
