The 25 Best Marvel Movies, Ranked

Black Panther (2018) tops the list with a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score, followed by Iron Man and Avengers: Endgame at 94%. We scored 51 Marvel films: every released MCU film plus the 13 Fox X-Men and Deadpool films, from X-Men (2000) to Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026).

Scores change slowly as new reviews arrive, so we recheck them when we update the page. To watch the winners in story order, add them to the Marvel movies in order checklist.

The 25 best Marvel movies

25. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

MCU Phase 4, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 84% from 450 reviews, Metacritic 67, CinemaScore A, worldwide box office $859 million. Ryan Coogler’s sequel deals with the loss of T’Challa after Chadwick Boseman’s death in 2020, and Shuri carries the story with Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda. It also introduces Namor and the underwater kingdom of Talokan.

24. Deadpool (2016)

Fox X-Men, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 85% from 345 reviews, Metacritic 65, CinemaScore A, worldwide box office $783 million. Ryan Reynolds finally gets to play Wade Wilson the way fans wanted, with an R rating and jokes aimed straight at the camera. It works as a standalone, so you can watch it without the other X-Men films.

23. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

MCU Phase 3, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 85% from 422 reviews, Metacritic 67, CinemaScore A, worldwide box office $864 million. James Gunn’s sequel has Peter Quill meet his father, Ego, played by Kurt Russell. Yondu and Nebula get much more to do, and the soundtrack is as good as the first one.

22. X2: X-Men United (2003)

Fox X-Men, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 85% from 249 reviews, Metacritic 68, CinemaScore A, worldwide box office $408 million. Bryan Singer’s sequel pits the X-Men against William Stryker and forces them to team up with Magneto. The opening attack by Nightcrawler is still one of the best scenes in the Fox series.

21. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

MCU Phase 3, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 85% from 486 reviews, Metacritic 68, CinemaScore A, worldwide box office $2.05 billion. Thanos is close to the lead character as he hunts the six Infinity Stones, and the Russo brothers bring almost every hero together. Watch it right before Avengers: Endgame, because the two films tell one story.

20. X-Men: First Class (2011)

Fox X-Men, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 86% from 294 reviews, Metacritic 65, CinemaScore B+, worldwide box office $353 million. Matthew Vaughn’s prequel goes back to 1962 and the Cuban Missile Crisis, with James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as the young Charles and Erik. It is the best starting point if you want the prequel era first.

19. The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

MCU Phase 6, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 86% from 408 reviews, Metacritic 65, CinemaScore A-, worldwide box office $522 million. Matt Shakman’s film puts Marvel’s First Family on a retro-futuristic Earth of their own, with Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. Galactus and the Silver Surfer bring the threat, and the team heads into Avengers: Doomsday next.

18. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

MCU Phase 3, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 87% from 445 reviews, Metacritic 70, CinemaScore A-, worldwide box office $623 million. Peyton Reed’s sequel finds Scott Lang under house arrest after Civil War, while Hope van Dyne suits up as the Wasp. The search for Janet van Dyne in the Quantum Realm matters later in the saga.

17. Thunderbolts* (2025)

MCU Phase 5, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 88% from 382 reviews, Metacritic 68, CinemaScore A-, worldwide box office $382 million. Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova leads a team of antiheroes who were never meant to work together. It introduces Bob, played by Lewis Pullman, and its post-credits scene leads into Avengers: Doomsday.

16. Doctor Strange (2016)

MCU Phase 3, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 89% from 385 reviews, Metacritic 72, CinemaScore A, worldwide box office $678 million. Benedict Cumberbatch plays a surgeon who turns to the mystic arts after a car crash ruins his hands. Scott Derrickson’s folding-city visuals still stand out, and Tilda Swinton plays the Ancient One.

15. Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)

MCU Phase 6, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 90% from 438 reviews, Metacritic 66, CinemaScore A, worldwide box office $2.52 billion. Destin Daniel Cretton’s film follows Peter Parker fighting crime full time in a world that no longer remembers him. Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jon Bernthal and Mark Ruffalo are in the official cast, and Wikipedia lists it as the second highest-grossing MCU film.

14. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

MCU Phase 2, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 90% from 311 reviews, Metacritic 70, CinemaScore A, worldwide box office $714 million. The Russo brothers’ first MCU film plays like a 1970s political thriller, with S.H.I.E.L.D. compromised from within. It brings back Bucky Barnes and introduces Sam Wilson, which sets up most of Phase Three.

13. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Fox X-Men, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 90% from 328 reviews, Metacritic 75, CinemaScore A, worldwide box office $746 million. Bryan Singer brings together the original X-Men cast and the First Class cast for a time travel story. Wolverine goes back to 1973 to stop a future war, and the film resets the Fox timeline.

12. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

MCU Phase 3, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 90% from 430 reviews, Metacritic 75, CinemaScore A, worldwide box office $1.16 billion. The Sokovia Accords split the Avengers into two sides, led by Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. It introduces Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, and the airport fight is a highlight.

11. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

MCU Phase 3, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 91% from 454 reviews, Metacritic 69, CinemaScore A, worldwide box office $1.14 billion. Jon Watts sends Peter Parker on a school trip to Europe, where Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio turns up. It closes Phase Three and deals with the world after Avengers: Endgame.

10. The Avengers (2012)

MCU Phase 1, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 91% from 363 reviews, Metacritic 69, CinemaScore A+, worldwide box office $1.52 billion. Joss Whedon brings Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye together against Loki and the Chitauri. It earned $1.52 billion worldwide and proved the shared universe idea worked.

9. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

MCU Phase 2, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 91% from 337 reviews, Metacritic 76, CinemaScore A, worldwide box office $773 million. James Gunn turned a little-known team into one of the most loved parts of the MCU, with Chris Pratt as Peter Quill. The 1970s mixtape soundtrack became as famous as the film.

8. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

MCU Phase 4, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 92% from 344 reviews, Metacritic 71, CinemaScore A, worldwide box office $432 million. Simu Liu leads Destin Daniel Cretton’s martial arts film, with Tony Leung as his father, Wenwu. The bus fight in San Francisco is one of the best action scenes in the Multiverse Saga.

7. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

MCU Phase 3, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 92% from 396 reviews, Metacritic 73, CinemaScore A, worldwide box office $880 million. Tom Holland’s first solo Spider-Man film keeps the stakes local, with Michael Keaton as the Vulture and Tony Stark as a reluctant mentor. Jon Watts makes it feel like a high school comedy as much as a superhero film.

6. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

MCU Phase 4, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 93% from 429 reviews, Metacritic 71, CinemaScore A+, worldwide box office $1.93 billion. Peter Parker asks Doctor Strange for help, and the spell breaks open the multiverse. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield return as other Peter Parkers, and it earned $1.93 billion worldwide.

5. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

MCU Phase 3, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 93% from 437 reviews, Metacritic 74, CinemaScore A, worldwide box office $855 million. Taika Waititi turns Thor into a comedy, with Thor and Hulk stuck as gladiators on Sakaar. Cate Blanchett plays Hela, and the film changed the tone of every Thor appearance after it.

4. Logan (2017)

Fox X-Men, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 93% from 428 reviews, Metacritic 77, CinemaScore A-, worldwide box office $619 million. James Mangold’s R-rated film is set in 2029 and closes Hugh Jackman’s run as Wolverine. It plays like a western, and Dafne Keen’s Laura is the film’s breakout character.

3. Avengers: Endgame (2019)

MCU Phase 3, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 94% from 551 reviews, Metacritic 78, CinemaScore A+, worldwide box office $2.94 billion. The Russo brothers end the Infinity Saga with a time heist that revisits earlier films. At 3 hours 1 minute it is the longest MCU film, and its $2.94 billion worldwide gross is the highest of any Marvel film.

2. Iron Man (2008)

MCU Phase 1, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 94% from 278 reviews, Metacritic 79, CinemaScore A, worldwide box office $586 million. Jon Favreau’s film launched the MCU, with Robert Downey Jr. as a weapons maker who builds a suit to escape captivity. The final press conference and the Nick Fury post-credits scene set up everything that followed.

1. Black Panther (2018)

MCU Phase 3, with a Rotten Tomatoes score 96% from 526 reviews, Metacritic 88, CinemaScore A+, worldwide box office $1.37 billion. Ryan Coogler’s film brings Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa home to Wakanda, with Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger. It was the first superhero film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

The top 25 at a glance

The worst Marvel movies

At the other end, these are the six lowest-rated films we scored. Dark Phoenix is the only one below 30% on Rotten Tomatoes.