Making the most of little competition at the global box office this weekend, Marvel’s Thunderbolts* retained its number one position and passed a major new milestone. The superhero movie made around $160 million worldwide in its debut weekend and has now passed the lifetime haul of the studio’s biggest bomb, The Marvels. Whether it is able to break through a new ceiling of sorts for Marvel movies — around $400 million globally — will become clearer as its run progresses. But if its performance this weekend is anything to go by, Thunderbolts* is on the right track. With around $130 million domestically and another $143 million from overseas markets, the film’s cumulative global haul stands at $272 million.

Directed by Jake Schreier, the movie registered a solid second-weekend hold, dropping less drastically than Marvel’s last three releases — Captain America: Brave New World, Deadpool & Wolverine, and The Marvels. These three movies encapsulate Marvel...