The Marvel Cinematic Universe has enjoyed unrivaled success for much of the last 17 years after Iron Man 's debut. While the early Phase 1 films performed well, it was really The Avengers ' release in 2012 that catapulted the franchise to new box office heights. The $1.5 billion team-up movie proved the MCU was legit and not going anywhere anytime soon.

The MCU topping 2012's worldwide box office chart was not an anomaly. Marvel Studios found continued success, as they achieved the same feat in 2016 with Captain America: Civil War , 2018 with Avengers: Infinity War , 2019 with Avengers: Endgame , and 2021 with Spider-Man: No Way Home .

Having the highest-grossing movie of a single year this many times is impressive. The broad interest in the universe lifted all the films,

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