Florence Pugh was born in 1996, had her first role in 2014 but became prominent, attracting attention when playing the main role in the 18+ film with many “hot scenes” Lady Macbeth (2016). As a low-budget independent film, Lady Macbeth surprised everyone when it brought a story full of sensuality and ambition of women through the explosive, convincing performance of Florence Pugh – at that time still a fairly new name.

From a breakthrough discovery, from a promising young actress Florence Pugh became a star of independent films, then appeared in many blockbusters such as Little Women or Black Widow … She is a special case in the Hollywood acting world with a plump, healthy figure, bold fashion style. Florence Pugh is also known as a straightforward, individualistic, strong star, not afraid of collision.

Florence Pugh’s arrival in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a pleasant surprise, with her debut in Black Widow as the tough, yet wounded younger sister Yelena. The film was panned, but even then, Florence Pugh showed promise for further growth. And she has found her rightful place as a leader in Thunderbolts* – a film that is reaping praise and bringing in good revenue for Marvel after a period of crisis.

In an interview with Variety, Florence Pugh said that this is a film that will help many people with its message of sharing, opening up to connect. The healing journey of the character Yelena from a lonely, lost, disoriented person to a person who unites a group of “failed”, “broken”, “outside of society” people has received great sympathy from the audience.

In the film, the character Red Guardian/Alexei Shostakov (played by David Harbour) mentioned the “light” in Yelena more than once. That is also what viewers clearly feel about the freshness and difference that Florence Pugh brings to the superhero universe full of stars. The actress also showed her dedication and daring when she performed a skydive from the second tallest building in the world in Malaysia.

Thanks to careful investment and a creative, engaging approach, Thunderbolts* is bringing “sweet fruit” not only to Marvel but also to the somewhat gloomy film market.

The film opened to $76 million in North America, which isn’t exactly stellar for a Marvel superhero movie, which typically starts in the hundreds of millions of dollars. But Thunderbolts* focuses on lesser-known heroes. That’s close to the ticket sales of Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings ($75 million) and Eternals ($71 million), which also introduced newer Marvel characters. Analysts believe Thunderbolts* will get a major boost in the coming weeks from critics and audiences, who have already received the film with an 88 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and an “A-” in CinemaScore post-release polls. Marvel is taking a step in the right direction after a string of poorly received films like Captain America: Brave New World , Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania , and The Marvels .

“This is a very good opening for a new superhero story,” said David A. Gross, who runs the film consultancy Franchise Entertainment Research. “It’s not at the top of all superhero releases, but it’s above average for the genre. And in this case, average is a big number.”

Globally, Thunderbolts* ended its opening weekend with $162.1 million and should continue to do well going forward.

Thunderbolts* cost $180 million to produce and about $100 million to market. Disney hopes the film marks a return to form for the superhero franchise before entering a new phase of mega-projects. Later in the summer, Marvel will continue to announce The Fantastic Four: First Steps on July 25, while rivals Warner Bros. and DC will release Superman on July 11.