LOS ANGELES, May 4 (Reuters) – “Thunderbolts,” the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, launched the summer movie season with a global box office haul of $162 million over the weekend, kicking off an important stretch for Hollywood’s annual earnings.

The superhero ensemble film, centered around a group of unlikely allies banding together to face off against a formidable villain, earned $76 million in domestic markets—namely the United States and Canada—according to distributor Walt Disney (DIS.N), as announced on Sunday.

The numbers met industry expectations, although they trailed the $88.8 million opening of Marvel’s earlier 2024 release, “Captain America: Brave New World.”

“Results like these have become typical for Marvel films lately,” noted Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations Co. He added that for a movie featuring mostly secondary characters from prior Marvel stories, it marks a respectable beginning.

Featuring performances by Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan, “Thunderbolts” helps lay the foundation for upcoming Marvel releases, including July's “Fantastic Four” and next summer’s highly anticipated “Avengers: Doomsday.” “This film functions as the opening move in a grander Marvel strategy,” Bock explained.

In China, the film debuted with a modest $10.4 million, making it the first test for how receptive Chinese audiences remain to U.S. blockbusters following government pledges to curtail film imports amid ongoing trade tensions initiated during the Trump era.

Despite that lukewarm premiere in China, Bock considered the overall international performance strong, highlighting that “Thunderbolts” more than doubled last year's weak summer debut by the film “The Fall Guy.”

Roughly 40% of annual box office revenue is typically earned from early May through Labor Day, a crucial period for the theater business, which continues its slow recovery from the pandemic downturn.

As of Sunday, domestic ticket sales were tracking 15% ahead of the same period in 2024, but still lagged 31.8% behind 2019 figures. That summer was bolstered by the smash success of “Avengers: Endgame,” which launched with a record-breaking $357.1 million domestically.

According to Andrew Cripps, Disney’s head of global theatrical distribution, “Thunderbolts” received the best critical reception for a Marvel film since 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” On Rotten Tomatoes, it secured approval ratings of 88% from critics and 94% from general audiences.

“We expect strong word of mouth to keep momentum going as more viewers discover the film,” Cripps said regarding the movie’s outlook.

Meanwhile, the faith-based hit “Sinners” held the second spot on the domestic box office chart, bringing in $33 million for a cumulative total of $179.7 million. Coming in third was the family-friendly “A Minecraft Movie,” which added $13.7 million and increased its domestic earnings to $398.2 million.

The rest of the summer promises a wave of sequels and franchises, including “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” and a highly awaited new installment in the “Superman” series.