Marvel’sThunderboltsfinds itself a spot among the highest-ratedMCUmovies onRotten Tomatoes, with its audience score landing even higher than its already impressive critics score. Despiteall the possible future storiesThunderbolts' ending sets up, Jake Schreier’sThunderboltsdelivers a very self-contained story centered around six anti-heroes and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Marvel pulls off an appropriate exploration into the mental health ofall ofThunderboltsmain characters, who bond through their inner struggles.
On June 10, 2025,Thunderboltsdebuts with a 95% critics score onRotten Tomatoes. This is the same score asSpider-Man: Far From Home, and it stands just belowSpider-Man: No Way Home’s 97% andShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' 98%.Thunderboltsalso surpassesDeadpool & Wolverine’s 94% audience score by just one point. At the moment of its debut,Thunderbolts*is Certified Fresh with an 88% Tomatometer and Certified Hot with a 95% Popcornmeter.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
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What The Thunderbolts* RT Audience Score Means
Thunderbolts* Is One Of The Multiverse Saga’s Highest-Rated Movies
With an audience score of 95% and a critics score of 88%,Thunderboltsofficially becomes Phase 5’s highest-rated movie. This record was previously held byBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever, which holds a 93% audience score and an 84% critics score, followed byGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s 94% audience score and 82% critics score. Within the Multiverse Saga,Thunderboltsis the third highest-rated movie, both in terms of Tomatometer and Popcornmeter. In the MCU’s overall rankings,Thunderbolts*holds the fourteenth spot, surpassingAvengers: Infinity Warin both audience score and critics score.
Our Take On The Thunderbolts* RT Audience Score
Thunderbolts*' High Ratings Are An Especially Impressive Feat
MCU movies with high audience scores, likeSpider-Man: No Way Home,Spider-Man: Far From Home, andDeadpool & Wolverine, were highly anticipated long before their first trailer dropped, as their concept alone promised to answer many questions about the MCU.Spider-Man: No Way HomeandDeadpool & Wolverinedelivered on their promise of multiversal team-ups and cameos, andSpider-Man: Far From Homeprovided an epilogue to the Infinity Saga afterAvengers: Endgame.Of the MCU’s top five movies with the highest Popcornmeter, onlyThunderbolts*andShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsearned high audience scores with no previous promise of universal or multiversal implications.
WhileThunderboltshas certain weaknesses such asTaskmaster’s little impact on the story, it avoids many of the problems most MCU movies are known for, like misplaced humor and excessive action.Thunderboltspacks multiple emotional punches with its mental health themes, and its self-contained story allows for more rewatch opportunities than other Multiverse Saga entries. That is not to say the film doesn’t drop link to future MCU projects, asThunderbolts*' post-credits sceneis the biggestAvengers: Doomsdayset-up to date andThunderbolts*' easter eggsdrop hints about future MCU events.
