Costumed heroes have appeared in films since the Golden Age of Hollywood, with crimefighters such as the Shadow, the Phantom, and Captain Marvel starring in serials and B-movies. In the 21st century Marvel launched a string of commercially successful movies that differed from prior efforts to translate comics to the big screen in that they were set in a single shared world. That ambitious plan generated huge dividends with The Avengers (2012), a film that featured Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America—three heroes that had scored individual blockbuster successes—and grossed more than $1.5 billion worldwide.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe, as it came to be known, grew into one of the most lucrative franchises in film history. In 2015 an agreement between Disney—Marvel’s parent company—and Sony brought Spider-Man (who had previously appeared only in Sony-produced films) into the shared universe; the character would subsequently be available for use by both studios. Marvel Studios, the company’s film and television division, continued to set records with its flagship, Avengers, but it also packed theatres with relatively unknown heroes in films such as the Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Ant-Man (2015), and Doctor Strange (2016). In addition, Black Panther (2018) became the first Marvel movie to win an Academy Award; it received Oscars for costume design, original score, and production design. By 2023 more than 30 films had been released under the banner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the franchise’s cumulative global box-office receipts approached $30 billion.
Below is a list of Marvel Cinematic Universe films in order of release.