Marvel’s ‘Thunderbolts*’ is off to a strong launch, bringing in an estimated $11 million from Thursday night previews, according to industry sources outside Disney. While final numbers can fluctuate by the weekend as more data rolls in, this opening is a promising sign for the summer box office, especially as momentum from recent hits like ‘A Minecraft Movie’ and ‘Sinners’ continues.

Starring Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan, ‘Thunderbolts*’ isn’t just opening well — it’s also resonating with audiences. It currently holds a 96% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, following an 88% certified fresh rating from critics. This reception surpasses recent MCU outings including ‘Captain America: Brave New World,’ which debuted in February to a 48% critic score and a 78% audience rating. Despite that, ‘Brave New World’ still managed a solid $88.8 million 3-day and $100 million 4-day debut over the Valentine’s Day/Presidents Day weekend, eventually grossing $200.2 million domestically and $414.8 million worldwide.

Thursday previews for ‘Thunderbolts*’ came in about $1 million short of ‘Brave New World’ ($12 million), but still ahead of 2021 Marvel releases like ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ ($8.8 million) and ‘Eternals’ ($9.5 million).

Weekend projections show ‘Thunderbolts*’ opening between $70 million and $75 million domestically across 4,300 locations, with a global debut potentially reaching $175 million. The film, which connects to the Disney+ series ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ and ‘Hawkeye,’ is boosted by premium format screenings including IMAX, Dolby, ScreenX, and 4DX.

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