MCU surpasses $30 billion worldwide with ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ |

Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) made history by becoming the first film franchise to surpass $30 billion in worldwide box office revenues. The milestone was revealed by Marvel boss Kevin Feige during his Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con.

“Deadpool & Wolverine,” the latest installment in the sprawling franchise, pushed its totals past the coveted milestone, earning $96 million on its opening day in North America. That’s the highest debut for an R-rated film and the sixth-highest opening day overall. The film is expected to generate between $195 million and $205 million domestically and about $380 million to $400 million worldwide by the end of Sunday.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is one of the most productive film franchises in history, boasting 34 films in 15 years. Since its inception with 2008’s “Iron Man,” the comic book giant has consistently produced hits, including “Avengers: Endgame” ($2.799 billion) and “Infinity War” ($2.05 billion), which are the two highest-grossing films of all time.

Even recent underperforming films like Eternals ($402 million), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($476 million) and The Marvels ($206 million) would be considered successes for most other studios. However, these films, which cost $200 million or more to produce, ultimately lost money for Disney during their theatrical run.

Other high-grossing franchises include Sony’s “Spider-Man,” which has earned $10.6 billion across 10 films; “Star Wars,” with $10.3 billion across 11 films; “Harry Potter,” with $9.6 billion across 11 films; and “James Bond,” with $7.8 billion across 25 films. These franchises have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to match the success of Marvel’s costumed heroes.

Shawn Levy directed Deadpool & Wolverine, which pairs wisecracking mercenary Ryan Reynolds and tough mutant Hugh Jackman on a mission to save Deadpool’s home universe. The cast also includes Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova, Matthew MacFadyen as Mr. Paradox, Rob Delaney as Peter and Leslie Uggams as Blind Al.