10 Indisputable Facts That Prove Marvel Is The Biggest Brand In Movies
5. The 'Avengers Bump'
Up until the release of The Avengers in 2012, the box office performance of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase 1 had been solid if unspectacular, ranging from The Incredible Hulk's underwhelming $263.4m to Iron Man 2's impressive $623.9m, with Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger falling somewhere in the middle.
However, when The Avengers smashed box office records around the globe to become the highest-grossing movie of all time (both domestically and worldwide) that wasn't directed by James Cameron, the studio's slate of Phase 2 features enjoyed dramatically improved commercial success, in a phenomenon analysts dubbed the 'Avengers Bump'.
Iron Man 3, the first Marvel Studios project to follow The Avengers, earned more than the previous two movies combined, with its final total of $1.215bn making it the fifth-biggest movie in history. Thor: The Dark World earned nearly $200m more than its predecessor, the Captain America sequel practically doubled the gross of the first movie and the unheralded Guardians of the Galaxy rode a wave of audience goodwill and enthusiastic reviews to a total of almost $775m.
It remains to be seen if the 'Avengers Bump' will have any impact on Age of Ultron, but the studio is no doubt hoping that the trend has an impact on the commercial performance of Peyton Reed's upcoming Ant-Man.