Captain America: Brave New Worldmay not be the sure-fire hit Marvel Studios has been hoping for, but it made a splash during its four-day opening weekend at the box office. Despite its detractors, the MCU sequel made$100 million over the holiday weekend, taking advantage of Presidents' Day on Monday. It’s not record-breaking by any means, especially by Marvel’s ridiculously high standards, but it was a solid theatrical debut for Anthony Mackie’s Captain America. However, most movies are judged at the box office according to their staying power in subsequent weeks, and it seemsBrave New Worldmight be plummeting down to earth soon.
According toDeadline, early estimates for the second weekend at the box office forCaptain America: Brave New Worldare atjust over $30 million. Unless there is a major upset, it will remain at the top of the domestic box office, beating out Neon’s horror comedyThe Monkey, which is looking to make a killing at $17 million. That said, a $30 million figure after making $100 over the first weekend, albeit during a holiday, puts the drop among the MCU’s worst. Even discounting the extra day, which would put it at an $88 million opening, it is still a major drop from weekend to weekend. If these projections hold,Brave New Worldcould have troublereaching the milestonenecessary to turn a profit.
Whether it is considereda roughly 70% drop with the four-day weekend, or just a 66% decline from its $88 million three-day opening number,Brave New Worldwill be among the MCU’s worst drops at the box office. WhileThe Marvels(78%) andAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania(70%) reign supreme,Brave New Worldwill likely join the likes ofBlack Widow(68%),Thor: Love and Thunder(68%), andDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness(67%). Of course, it will probably make a bit more than $30 million this weekend, which will skew the aforementioned numbers slightly, but it is still in bad company.
What Went Wrong With ‘Captain America: Brave New World’?
The reception toCaptain America: Brave New Worldhas been divisive, to say the least. When it comes to critics, they have been leaning slightly on the negative side of the conversation. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has been floating arounda rotten 50% rating, and has lowered a few times over the past week. Theaudience score on Rotten Tomatoespaints a different picture, as it stands proudly with an 80% rating on the Popcornemeter. Meanwhile, on CinemaScore,Brave New Worldnabbed a very disappointing B- from general moviegoers. Of course, a B does not sound that bad, but the rating system tends to be notoriously positive on even critically panned films.
Marvel Responds to Criticisms About Weird ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Cameo
That brief cameo in ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ was very much real.
As with any release that gets mixed reviews across the board, a mix of “issues” likely plaguedCaptain America: Brave New Worldfrom the start. The most obvious being the significant reshoots that went on last year, which saw Marvel Studios add and remove a bevy of characters, includingseveral members of the Serpent Society.Certain sequences, which rumors say include the head-scratching post-credits scene, and the anti-climactic third-act battle, were meddled with up until the movie’s release.Of course, additional photography on a blockbuster is not unusual, but when it becomes obvious to audience members, it can weigh the overall film down.
Captain America: Brave New World
Captain America: Brave New World (formerly titledNew World Order)marks Sam Wilson’s first MCU big-screen appearance as Steve Rogers' successor after receiving the suit and shield in Phase 4’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Anthony Mackie returns as the titular Avenger alongside Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres, Carl Lumby as Isaiah Bradley, and Tim Blake Nelson as The Incredible Hulk’s former ally Samuel Sterns. Harrison Ford makes his MCU debut replacing the late William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross.
