Despite making billions less thanAvengers: Endgame, theMCU’sIron Manmanaged to beat its results in one important way that also shows how the franchise has evolved over time. As the film that startedthe MCU’s movie empire,Iron Man’s importance for Marvel and its evolution over time can’t really be overstated.
However,Iron Man’s box office results are a long way from the franchise’s best in the long run. This achievement instead goes to 2019’sAvengers: Endgame- though the fourth Avengers movie’s staggering box office success didn’t stopIron Man’s own movie results from beating it in a key field.
Iron Man Made Almost Double Avengers: Endgame In One Specific Market
Naturally, when it comes to the most frequently compared financial stats for theatrically released movies - namely that of box office results -Avengers: Endgamebeats the entire rest ofthe MCU timeline, alongside most of the film world. With a $2.7 billion box office, this isn’t exactly surprising, though it makesEndgamea financial monolith for the franchise.
However, this doesn’t meanAvengers: Endgameis unbeatable when looking at every single aspect of its fiscal results, even if it reached eye-watering box office milestones. Interestingly, there’s exactly one area in which the MCU’s first film fared much better, to the tune of around $91 million more thanAvengers: Endgameitself.
ThoughIron Manmade $584 million in its worldwide box office comparatively, it did also do well in one different aspect of its financial results, as its home market takings - meaning its DVD and Blu-ray sales - also add an extra $198 million to its monetary earnings (according to The Numbers' movie records on the MCU).
Given this isn’t far off half of its box office, it’s a pretty considerable number, to say the least. WhileAvengers: Endgameis a box office champion, its takings in the home market arena aren’t as staggering.
In fact,Avengers: Endgameis reported to have made $107 million in terms of its home market, which meansIron Manactually managed to generate a higher total than the MCU’s biggest movie in this regard.
Why Iron Man Made Double Avengers: Endgame In The Home Market
The era in whichIron ManandAvengers: Endgamewere released appears to play a big role in their respective results. While physical media still definitely makes money,the increased use of streaming platforms to rewatch things like MCU movies means there’s less incentive to many to go and actively buy a DVDor Blu-ray copy of a film.
Iron Manreleasing before Disney+ was a thing - let alone before it was one of the most accessible ways to watch the entire MCU catalog - goes some way to explain its home market success. The factIron Manpre-dates much of the MCU does also, since comparatively, a full MCU DVD collection byEndgamewould require 21 other DVDs.
In some ways, the success ofAvengers: Endgamemay ironically also play a role in this. WithAvengers: Endgame’s box office being so sky-high, the chances of someone having not seen the movie and deciding to pick up the DVD to see it is astronomically low - especially in a time period where streaming is available in the first place.
All in all, whileIron Manmaking more here than its $2.7 billion cousin seems somewhat surreal to note thanks toEndgame’s success, it does make sense given the contexts the two films were released in. Indeed, comparing and contrasting the two make some interesting ideas about how the MCU and cinema more broadly has changed seem clear.
The Difference Between Iron Man & Avengers: Endgame’s Home Market Shows One Major MCU Change
The difference betweenIron ManandAvengers: Endgame’s home market results appears to highlight the ways in which streaming - and a lower reliance on physical media for home viewing - has changed the fiscal landscape for Marvel’s movies and the wider world of film, and reduced this market down subsequently in recent years.
Though the MCU has had a wide assortment of hits that have blownIron Man’s box office out of the water, few of these have replicated the 2008 movie’s success in the home market side of things in recent history, withThe Avengers' $252 million home market results now looking effectively impossible for newer films to replicate.
For example, 2021’sSpider-Man: No Way Homehas a box office of $1.9 billion, but a home market result of just $46 million, andDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnesssimilarly reportedly made just $18 million in terms of its home market results, despite having a box office of $952 million.
That said, this isn’t as dire a sign as it might seem, since the move to streaming brings in considerable revenue from subscription payments, which are monthly or yearly versus a one-time-only purchase. However,Iron ManandEndgame’s results do still paint a fascinating picture of the MCU’s future and past at the same time in this regard.
