Despite middling reviews from critics (51% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a B- CinemaScore from moviegoers, Captain America: Brave New World is exceeding expectations at the box office.
According to Deadline, the movie performed better than expected on Saturday with $27.5 million. Both Disney and rival studios predict a four-day opening weekend of $100 million and a global debut of $192.4 million (a couple of million above early estimates).
Disney dropped the ball with Captain America: Brave New World's release in the UK where the movie has been soundly beaten by Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. The latest Marvel Studios title dropped on Wednesday in several countries but the UK wasn't one of them, robbing it of the chance to get the jump on the final instalment of that classic romcom franchise.
That's still an impressive global bow, of course, and back in North America, Captain America: Brave New World is eyeing a $88.5 million three-day haul.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier sequel has nabbed the fourth biggest Presidents' Day weekend of all time behind Black Panther ($242 million), Deadpool ($152 million), and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($120 million). While not a critical hit, Captain America: Brave New World is the 35th consecutive MCU movie to open at #1 domestically.
Captain America: Brave New World has been criticised for its relatively straightforward story, while fans have expressed frustration with changes made through reshoots. For regular moviegoers and casual MCU fans, seeing Cap battle Red Hulk may be enough to have a good time. Weekend #2 will still be key, though.
"Flawed but functional, Captain America: Brave New World's many problems are largely forgotten any time Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford electrify the screen," we said in our review. "And when Red Hulk shows up, the movie reaches new heights of awesome."
Check out a fun new featurette for Captain America: Brave New World in the player below.
In Captain America: Brave New World, after meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross, played by Harrison Ford in his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, Sam Wilson finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.
The movie stars Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Carl Lumbly, with Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, and Harrison Ford. The movie is directed by Julius Onah and produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore. Louis D’Esposito and Charles Newirth serve as executive producers.
Captain America: Brave New World opens in U.S. theaters on February 14, 2025.