As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to grow year after year, we turned to science to determine the best MCU movies.
Deadpool & Wolverine is the 34th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it seems to be something of a shot in the arm. The hyper-violent, cameo-packed, R-rated fiasco is lighting up the box office and reinvigorating a lagging fanbase.
But was the MCU actually that good in the first place? We did the hard math so you don’t have to, and averaged every MCU film by their critic ratings and box office earnings to make a very serious scientific determination as to which ones are “the best.”
In doing so, we found the numbers aren’t so cut and dry. In fact, a mere 8 out of the 34 existing MCU movies rise above the average.
| Movie | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | US Box Office | WW Box Office |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Man (2008) | 94 | 79 | 318,604,126 | 585,366,247 |
| Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) | 92 | 76 | 333,176,600 | 772,776,600 |
| Black Panther (2018) | 96 | 88 | 700,059,566 | 1,346,913,161 |
| Avengers: Endgame (2019) | 94 | 78 | 858,373,000 | 2,799,439,100 |
| Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) | 93 | 71 | 804,793,477 | 1,912,233,593 |
| Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) | 84 | 67 | 453,829,060 | 859,208,836 |
| Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) | 82 | 64 | 358,995,815 | 845,555,777 |
| Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) | 79 | 56 | 280,529,906 | 590,629,906 |
It’s honestly kind of eye-opening when you put all the data back-to-back. Many MCU films will be well-reviewed or will clean up at the box office, but few will do both. However, eight films took the world by storm, and it’s a surprising list that highlights where fans’ interests lie.
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In the long run, the only real surprise on the list may be the original Iron Man. It’s a hugely important piece of the puzzle today, but at the time, it was only a moderate success. It’s interesting to look at how quaint it seems compared to today’s MCU, where Iron Man is now a multiversal Doctor Doom.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Deadpool & Wolverine, which gave fans the Wolverine they’ve been waiting over two decades for, all while having him mix it up with a bevy of forgotten Fox Marvel characters. It’s paying off, too, as it looks like it’ll cross the coveted $1 billion box office threshold soon.
But perhaps the only real relevant piece of data here is that everything is represented. There is no singular phase that blows the rest out of the water, proving that even when it’s at a low point, the MCU can find a way to surprise and delight its fans.
We’ll find out if that trend continues when Phase 6 officially begins in 2026 with The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Until then, check out our rundown of every upcoming Marvel and TV show or our rundown of every Deadpool & Wolverine cameo.
