Here’s how much Eternals cost to make, and what it needs to earn at the box office to be considered a success. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has continued to be very successful in 2021, with Black Widow and Shang-Chi helping lead a box office resurgence. Even though total grosses are still a ways off from approaching 2019 levels, new Marvel blockbusters have been a boon for exhibitors. Shang-Chi broke the all-time Labor Day record, besting a mark that was set in pre-pandemic times.

Marvel hopes to have another hit on their hands when Eternals arrives in theaters. Directed by Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao, the film introduces a bevy of new characters to the MCU portrayed by an all-star cast. In the past, Marvel’s shown a knack for making household names out of obscure properties like Guardians of the Galaxy, so that track record indicates they’ll be able to achieve something similar with Eternals. Early Eternals box office projections are the highest of Phase 4, which is good considering the movie’s price tag.

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Eternals’ reported production budget is around $200 million. That figure makes it one of the pricier non-Avengers movies in the MCU recently. Shang-Chi cost $150 million to make, while Spider-Man: Far From Home cost $160 million. Captain Marvel’s budget was between $150-175 million. In the last few years, Black Widow and Black Panther were MCU solo movies that cost $200 million to make.

The general rule of thumb is a film’s breakeven point is its production budget doubled. This means Eternals would have to gross around $400 million globally in order to recoup its costs. Right now, it has a good chance of hitting that mark. A handful of Hollywood blockbusters have passed that threshold worldwide, including Shang-Chi ($423.6 million) and No Time to Die ($606.7 million). Black Widow earned $379.6 million, but its gross was affected by the hybrid Disney+ release where viewers paid to watch it via Premier Access. Given the popularity of the MCU and the gap between studio tentpoles since No Time to Die opened, there should be demand for Eternals. However, there are some factors working against it.

Eternals has a very long runtime, clocking in at 156 minutes. This is significant because that limits the number of daily screenings theaters can show, which can impact the box office haul. There have been plenty of long movies that have been box office hits (No Time to Die being one of them), so the runtime may not really hinder Eternals, but it’s something to consider. Additionally, the film is a rarity in the MCU, as Eternals has a rotten Rotten Tomatoes score. Typically, MCU films are well-received. At this point, the franchise is probably critic-proof, but it will be interesting to see how the mixed word-of-mouth affects Eternals’ box office. More casual audiences may opt to wait and skip Eternals in the theater if they feel it isn’t as “must-see” as other superhero films.

Key Release Dates
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  • Eternals (2021)Release date: Nov 05, 2021
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
  • The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Jul 28, 2023
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About The Author


Chris Agar
(5540 Articles Published)

Chris Agar is a news editor for Screen Rant, also writing features and movie reviews for the site as one of Screen Rant’s Rotten Tomatoes approved critics. He is a graduate of Wesley College’s Bachelor of Media Arts and Master of Sport Leadership programs. In 2013, Chris was hired to write weekly box office prediction posts in conjunction with the Screen Rant Underground podcast’s Box Office Battle game and his role expanded over the next few years. In addition to covering the latest news and hottest movie topics daily, Chris has attended numerous media events for Screen Rant, including San Diego Comic-Con, delivering content his readers care about. He credits Star Wars and Toy Story with launching a lifelong fascination with movies that led to his career, and now he has a wide range of cinematic tastes, enjoying the latest Hollywood blockbusters, Oscar contenders, and everything in between. Chris’ favorite film genres include sci-fi/fantasy, crime, action, and drama.

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