Marvel Zombies Viewership Surge Just Put Season 2 on the Fast Track
Marvel Zombies chomped to No. 1 on Disney+ in the U.S. within days of its September 24, 2025 debut, with the four-episode TV-MA animated series topping the charts for its first three days and surpassing Disney and Marvel’s five-day launch projections—momentum that could fast-track Season 2.
Marvel Zombies just shambled onto Disney+ and immediately took a bite out of the charts. It is short, it is TV-MA, and it is already one of Marvel Animation's strongest launches. Not exactly what I expected from a four-episode spin-off built around an undead MCU, but here we are.
The quick version
- Debut: September 24, 2025 on Disney+.
- U.S. performance: Hit the top spot on Disney+'s most-watched list for its first three days.
- Global ranking: Per FlixPatrol, it reached the #1 series slot worldwide, overtaking Hulu's Alien: Earth.
- Current U.S. overall: Sitting at #2 across all titles, just behind Pixar's Elio.
- Launch window: Within five days, it beat Disney and Marvel's internal expectations.
- Format and tone: Four episodes, TV-MA, basically an R-rated survival story with familiar heroes.
- Reception: Rotten Tomatoes critics are in the 65-66% range; audiences are warmer at 76%.
- Marvel Animation context: Follows What If...? season 1, X-Men '97 (which drew 4 million viewers in its first five days), Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and Eyes of Wakanda.
So why did this hit?
Timing helps. A gnarly, bloodier take on the MCU dropping right before Halloween is good programming. Also, it is different. The show sits in the Marvel Multiverse, where a zombie virus wrecks the superhero community, and it leans hard into survival-horror energy you do not usually get from Marvel TV. Four episodes is barely a snack, but apparently it was enough to hook people.
Marvel needed a win like this
This lands in a year when Marvel's theatrical side underdelivered. Captain America: Brave New World topped out at $415 million worldwide, and Thunderbolts* finished at $382 million, both well below the franchise's glory days. Having a TV-MA animated title catch fire on streaming is... unexpected, but useful.
Season 2 talk (because of course)
Marvel Studios sources say Marvel Animation is already kicking around additional stories. Brad Winderbaum and company have also been clear that a second season depends on sustained viewership, not just a hot first week. Early signals are pointing the right way, and since the show leaves survivors on the board by the end of season 1, there is plenty of runway if the numbers hold.
The bottom line: Marvel Zombies is a weird little outlier that arrived at exactly the right moment. If it keeps gnawing away at the charts, do not be surprised when Disney+ serves another helping.