Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther

Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther (or simply Ultimate Avengers 2) is a 2006 American animated superhero film and a sequel to the film Ultimate Avengers, which it was made back-to-back with. Produced by Marvel Animation and DongWoo Animation, the film focuses on the Black Panther, who teams up with the Ultimate Avengers to continue their fight against the aliens when they invade Africa. Unused characters include Hawkeye, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, who were not in the initial Ultimate Avengers movie and were originally planned to be in the second movie. Using Hawkeye as an example, VP of Marvel Studios' Animation Development Craig Kyle did not want him to be a background character but "he's going to matter" if he appears.

Released on August 11 2006, the film received negative reviews from critics, who criticized the story and plot holes, although the animation was praised. Despite this, the film was a box office success, grossing $47 million against a budget of $6 million.

Box office
In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Step Up, World Trade Center, Pulse, and Zoom, and was projected to gross $5-10 million from 2,000 theaters in its opening weekend. The film grossed $3 million on its first day (which Variety called "dismal"), including $200,000 from Thursday night previews, and debuted with $9 million, finishing fifth. In its second weekend, the film grossed $5 million, falling to eighth. Although the film failed to outgross its predecessor, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Marvel was moving forth with a spin-off, and that the title was going to be Young Avengers (which was later renamed to Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow).

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 31% based on 193 reviews, with an average rating of 4.7/10. The site's consensus reads, "Visually spectacular but virtually lifeless, Ultimate Avengers 2 fails to match the wits of its predecessor." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 39 out of 100, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B-" on a scale of A+ to F, down from the "B" earned by the first film.