Ever since the launch of Iron Man back in 2008, Marvel Studios and the Marvel Universe have been a prominent focus of cinema.
Currently, a total of 27 films and numerous TV series have told the stories of dozens of superheroes and those close to them. It’s estimated that the MCU has brought in more than $23 billion worldwide, making it one of the biggest movie franchises of all time – and it is only getting bigger.
Fans have theorised, argued, and celebrated about the stories of their beloved superheroes, based on characters from the original Marvel comicbooks.
With all their success, some of the MCU films have gone down better than others when it comes to fan reactions. Here is every single one of the 31 movies, ranked in order of popularity according to Rotten Tomatoes scores which are based on professional critic reviews.
Warning: spoilers for almost all Marvel films inside, including the recent additions such as Ant-Man 3.
1. Black Panther
Coming in at 96%, Black Panther tops the list of films in the MCU. The first movie to star a Black actor as the lead, the film follows the late Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa as he navigates stepping into his father’s shoes as King of Wakanda. By far and wide the most highly rated Marvel movie, 2022 saw it get a much deserved sequel. Photo: Disney
2. Avengers: Endgame
Closely following at #2, Avengers: Endgame scored 94% on the Tomatometer. Endgame was the culmination of more than 10 years of build-up that started in a cave with a box of scraps. It brought every Avenger, big and small, onto the big screen to face down Thanos and saw the end of some of our most beloved original Avengers. Many cite the film of Marvel's best but it narrowly misses out on the top spot, according to Rotten Tomatoes. Photo: Jesse Grant
3. Iron Man
It’s a testament to how beloved Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man was that an action film starring just one man from 2008 has scored the same as one from 2019 featuring all the Avengers at once. Many have called Downey the grandfather of the MCU for his portrayal of Iron Man, whose popularity sparked the continuation of the franchise for years following. It was the first Marvel movie to hit the big screen and has stood the test of time - even a while 15 years later. Photo: Disney
4. Thor: Ragnarok
The first two Thor movies were rarely listed as anyone’s favourites, so the third solo Thor film, Thor: Ragnarok took the signature humour associated with the Asgardian prince to a whole new level. Director Taika Waititi will return to direct the fourth Thor film, Love and Thunder, so it will be interesting to see where that lands on this list. It went up to fourth over the past year after picking up a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Photo: PA Photo/Marvel Studios/Walt Disney Studios/Jasin Boland