Five years ago, would anyone have guessed the Marvel movie machine would earn $5 billion from its six "phase 1" films? Of course not, but that's exactly what happened.
In May, "phase 2" kicked off, with Iron Man 3 earning $1.2 billion worldwide. All signs suggest that Walt Disney's (DIS 0.16%) next wave of Marvel movies will vastly out-earn the first.
The following slideshow looks at the four remaining films and explains how Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which makes its debut next week on ABC, could add momentum at the box office.
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