Since 2008 a certain movie franchise has become one of the most popular and successful franchises in film history. The MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) has gone on to bring out some of the biggest blockbusters in recent memory and it has also brought in a lot of money from the box office. In just 23 movies at the moment of me typing this, the MCU has brought in over 22.5 billion dollars in the box office. This week for my top 10 list I thought I give some huge love for probably the greatest franchise ever and rank 10 of the best films under the MCU. Now you’re probably wondering how I am going to rank this as the MCU has so many great films. Well I will be using box office success and critical success but I will also be adding in how popular they were with the fans and how popular they have gotten over time. This might be a pretty hard list that I will not be opinionated on at all as I want this to go down the middle and be straight forward. Comment below what your favorite film in the MCU is and let’s Assemble the Avengers, I m Groot and Excelsior and let’s countdown the Top 10 MCU Films.
Top 10 MCU Films
10. Iron Man (2008) – What better way to start off this list than the one film that began the MCU. 2008’s Iron Man is most defiantly one of the biggest reasons why the MCU franchise became a huge success as without this film every other film on this list would had never been as successful or even been created had this movie not done well critically and in the box office. Iron Man was very successful as it brought in over $586 million in the box office and critics praised the film’s direction, screenplay, visual effects, action sequences but most of all the acting, particularly Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal as Tony Stark/Iron Man. The film might be one of the more slow burning films under the MCU but it has a lot of the charm the later MCU films have. The film also has the 3rd highest ranking on Rotten Tomatoes with 94%. The film gained tons of Award nominations including 2 nominations for Visual Effects and Sound Editing for the Academy Awards. The film itself helped re-launch Robert Downey Jr.’s career as soon after this film came out Downey Jr. career sky rocketed as he was casted into tons of films from Tropic Thunder to the Sherlock Holmes franchise, but for 12 years he was a part of the MCU playing the beloved Tony Stark. Iron Man to this day is considered by many as one of the best MCU films of all time and as I said before, without the success from this film the MCU would had just been non-existent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ugaeA-nMTc
9. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) – It’s safe to say that Jon Watts and Kevin Fiege know what they are doing when it comes to having Spider-Man in the MCU. The 1st stand alone Spider-Man film under the MCU is by far amazing. The film introduced us to some very beloved characters, had an amazing villain of Vulture played by Michael Keaton and some say that this version of Spider-Man, played by Tom Holland, is the best version of the character in live action form. Spider-Man: Homecoming has an amazing story that centers more on Peter Parker’s high school life and trying to mix it with his new life as an Avenger but also the sacrifices he has to make being the web slinging superhero. Plus add in the fact that he has Tony Stark watching him 24/7 and his decisions in the film can be a huge sacrifice of him being an official member of the Avengers. Either way the movie destroyed the box office by bringing in just over $880 million and critics were very positive about the movie as they praised Holland’s and Keaton’s performances. The film has the 5th highest Rotten Tomatoes scoring with 92% and it later spawned an equally just as great sequel of Spider-Man: Far From Home. It’s pretty safe to say that this film brought Spider-Man back into the big screens in a positive way. The film has a great mix of dramatic moments and comedic moments while also having a mix of great performances from its cast and also having a very smart screenplay. It’s one of those MCU films that fans love to watch time and time again and never get tired of. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9DwoQ7HWvI
8. Thor: Ragnarok (2017) – While the first 2 Thor films under the MCU weren’t as exciting as some of the other films that came before and after them, Thor: Ragnarok somehow managed to be extremely incredible and loved by many of the MCU fans. Taika Waititi changed the tone for the third installment of Thor and gave it the spark that it truly needed. Ragnarok has a mix of funny comedic moments and some very great action sequences. Not only that but its cast is phenomenal and really helped this movie strive. From Chris Hemsworth as the mighty Thor to Jeff Goldblum’s portrayal as the Grandmaster, this cast does a very phenomenal job. Plus added bonus points on Cate Blanchett as Hela as she brings out an incredible MCU villain in this film. This film did extremely well in the box office as it brought in $854 million and critics praised this movie with so much positivity from Waititi’s direction to the musical scores in the film. Ragnarok also has the 4th best rating of MCU films with a 93 % rating on Rotten Tomatoes. If I could give my honest opinion about the film I have to say that this film would had been so different had Taika Waititi not been the director for this film as I feel like it would had been another dull Thor movie with great action sequences and that’s it. I’m pretty happy that he brought in some comedic effect to this movie and even brought in his charm to the MCU. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7MGUNV8MxU
7. The Avengers (2012) – Before Joss Whedon became the next member added into “Cancel Culture”, he was helping to create one of the biggest movies in 2012. The Avengers was that one summer blockbuster that you needed to be there to see live and in person. The fan fair for this movie was beyond insane as this was the movie event that everybody was talking about. The Avengers was the crossover movie that brought together Earth’s mightiest heroes and had them take on both Loki and an alien army that worked under a future huge villain in a later movie in the MCU. The Avengers had so many great visual effects and action sequences, the musical scores including the theme for The Avengers is iconic in cinema history, the cast and crew for this film really did phenomenal in bringing this movie to life and let’s be honest but this was the perfect movie to watch and make you a fan of both Marvel and the MCU franchise. Critics praised this movie very positively and Marvel made a ton of money in the box office. The film gained over $1.59 billion dollars in the box office all around the world and to this day is considered one of the greatest summer blockbusters of all time. In 2017 Empire featured the film in its 100 Greatest Movies of All Time list. Since the film came out The Avengers has been featured on many people’s list from greatest MCU film of all time to greatest comic book movie of all time lists. We all assembled to see the Avengers Assemble in this blockbuster film and we continue to this day to watch this movie and fall in love with it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIR8Ar-Z4hw
6. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) – There is no doubt that this movie belongs on this list, after all many people considers this to be the best film under the MCU library. Captain America: The Winter Soldier was directed by quite possibly the best two people to come into the MCU, Anthony and Joe Russo. The Russo brothers direction in this movie is brilliant as they made a perfect sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger. Die hard Marvel fans fell in love with this film as it has some of the best action sequences in the MCU, an incredible musical score and we were all ready introduced to Bucky Barnes in the first Captain America film but what a way to introduce us to his villainous side of the super soldier The Winter Soldier. The film has the 10th highest rating on Rotten Tomatoes with a 90% rating. Critics were very positive with this film and it did pretty great in the box office, bringing in over $714 million dollars. You know this is one of MCU biggest and most popular films when it gets compared to other big comic book films. Owen Glieberman of Entertainment Weekly compared Captain America: The Winter Soldier to The Dark Knight. Yeah if you can compare this movie with in my opinion the greatest comic book movie ever than yeah this movie must be freaking incredible. The Winter Soldier to this day continues to be loved by its fans and like I said earlier many consider this movie to be the best MCU film of all time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbayiPxkUMM
5. Avengers: Endgame (2019) – What better way to end a decade long journey than with this blockbuster film. Avengers: Endgame is by far the greatest way to end a long journey in this MCU franchise as it ended a story that started in 2008’s Iron Man and now here in Endgame we get to see the final battle between The Avengers and Thanos. Now while most of the story didn’t start until 2012’s The Avengers, it was the anticipation that many of us were waiting for as we awaited the final boss battle pretty much. You couldn’t go anywhere without people talking about this movie as this was the biggest movie in 2019. So much so that it constantly was breaking box office records, including at the time becoming the highest grossing film of all time as it surpassed Avatar. The film gained $2.798 billion dollars and it held onto that record until April 2021 when Avatar took back the record as the film was re-released in theaters in China. This movie in general has great dramatic moments that don’t get taken over by comedic lines soon after. Plus that finale with the return of all the Avengers and the final battle is top tier iconic. Most of all it was bittersweet to watch both Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans bid farewell from this huge movie franchise and watching Stan Lee’s final cameo appearance in the MCU. #ILoveYou3000. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE1P4zDhhqw
4. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) – Prior to this film how many people can actually say they knew who the hell Star-Lord was or the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy. If you were a diehard Marvel comic fan then maybe you did but for many this was the first time seeing these group of misfits and outcasts and what a perfect way to do it than with this amazing film. From the weird mind of James Gunn comes a movie that literally stole the hearts of many in the summer of 2014. Guardians of the Galaxy has loveable characters from Star-Lord to the adorable Groot. Not only that but the visual effects is beyond amazing, the comedic moments are used perfectly in the film, it has such a great cast, the story is incredible and the soundtrack is one of the greatest soundtracks in cinema history. This movie is one of the most re-watchable films in the MCU and again who would have thought these B-rated comic book heroes would become cinema icons in a matter of just days in the theater. Hell you know your film is iconic when just 3 years after being released into theaters it is being recognized as one of the 100 Greatest Films of All Time for Empire’s magazine. The film has a solid 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and was a critical and box office success, bringing in over $772 million dollars in the box office. The film surprised us all in 2014 and for almost a decade it has continued to be beloved by not only MCU fans but movie fans all around the world. Plus if I could add, you knew this film was going to be lit when the first trailer dropped and introduced us to the Guardians of the Galaxy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d96cjJhvlMA
3. Black Panther (2018) – Black Panther is the only film in the MCU to be nominated for Best Picture in both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards. While the film didn’t win the award for Best Picture, it became the 1st ever comic book film to be nominated in the Best Picture category for the Academy Awards. Black Panther has it all from an amazing screenplay to an incredible soundtrack/original score. The film could had been a perfect film, but some of the visual effects were not so good looking, including the fight scene in the final act between T’Challa and Killmonger, but if you look past the visual effects then this film right here is a perfect film. Black Panther had a lot on its plate when it was first released as it was not only the MCU’s first black lead film but Marvel’s first film to have a black lead and it was the first time the Black Panther character had a live action adaptation and it freaking delivered in the biggest way possible. The film brought in over $1.3 billion and has as of right now a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is the highest rating for any film in the MCU. Plus the film is the only MCU film to win an Academy Award. I think it’s safe to say that this film delivered in the biggest way possible. It’s unfortunate that the late great Chadwick Boseman won’t be a part of the future sequel but he will always be remembered by MCU fans for his amazing performance. RIP King <3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjDjIWPwcPU
2. Captain America: Civil War (2016) – There was only a matter of time where we would see both Iron Man and Captain America clash with each other as while both were friends and worked with each other, there was still some tension between the two characters. Captain America: Civil War is a film where we see the Avengers have a disagreement with each other and face off with one another because of this disagreement and both sides are lead by Tony Stark and Steve Rogers aka Iron Man and Captain America. This film was badass when it first came out and I remember seeing the trailer for this film and thinking this is going to be one epic movie and the Russo brothers proved me right because this was such an epic movie. We got an introduction to both Black Panther and Spider-Man in this film, an epic clash/fight scene between most of the Avengers, amazing action sequences, great performances from its cast including Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans and I can go on and on about how amazing this film is but you get the point, this film was legit freaking EPIC. The film became a critical success and brought in over $1.1 billion in the box office. Civil War has been said to be the greatest film in the MCU by many MCU fans and I could honestly agree with them. Civil War brought out such amazing performances and action scenes in one film and the film as a whole is just an incredible ride that you constantly re-ride as not only did you love the experience but you continue to want to experience it again and again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKrVegVI0Us
1. Avengers: Infinity War (2018) – This was the movie that we anticipated for. From Iron Man to The Avengers, we were anticipating for this one movie that was going to have the big baddie Thanos. What we got next was the single most greatest film under the MCU of all time. The action scenes were phenomenal, the screenplay was incredible, Thanos was freaking phenomenal in this film and that final act is literally an iconic finale in any comic book film and possibly in cinema history. Avengers: Infinity War brought together most of the MCU franchise to battle it out with Thanos and his army. Endgame might have the greatest final battle scene that literally had everyone from the MCU but this movie had the battle that led up to Endgame’s final battle and man was it amazing to watch these heroes take on Thanos for the first time in cinema history. The finale of this film as I said is Iconic and if you got to see this movie in theaters and were in a huge crowd when you did then you know how intense the finale for this film was. I can still remember to this day how loud and simply how quiet the crowd was in my theater and let me tell you it’s an experience I will never forget. The Snap heard around the world literally silenced us all and made us wait another year to see how will the MCU end this amazing 10 plus year long story. The film was critically praised for the visual effects, action sequences, Josh Brolin’s performance as Thanos and the emotional weight that it left for its viewers and the film made bank, bringing in over $2 billion from the box office. Actually this was the first superhero film to reach $2 billion. Avengers Infinity War has left a huge impact in the world of both cinema and comic book films and it has become one of the most talked about films since it was first released. It’s a pretty huge argument to say what is truly the greatest film in the MCU franchise and man did this movie takes that mantle to top this list as the greatest film in the MCU. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZfuNTqbHE8
Honorable Mentions
Ant-Man Doctor Strange Spider-Man: Far From Home Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Captain America: The First Avenger
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