The review embargo for Captain America: Brave New World lifted earlier today and, as we expected after the mixed social media reactions, it's received a "Rotten" score on Rotten Tomatoes.
With 106 reviews counted, it sits at a disappointing 52% which places it right above Eternals (47%) and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (46%). Even The Marvels, Marvel Studios' biggest box office flop since The Incredible Hulk, is "Fresh" at 62%.
Can Captain America: Brave New World turn things around? While we expect many more reviews to be counted in the coming days, reaching 60% - the threshold for a "Fresh" movie - is a challenging feat not even a Red Hulk is likely strong enough to achieve.
So, it's a "Rotten" movie but how much does that really matter? Captain America: Brave New World is projected to gross around $190 million during its global opening weekend, a solid start which, provided word-of-mouth isn't dreadful could see it eventually become a moderate hit.
With a reported $180 million budget - including reshoots, supposedly - Marvel Studios doesn't have a box office flop on its hands. At least not yet. That second weekend will be key.
By the time you read this, social media pundits are bound to have already chimed in with talk of "superhero fatigue," while others will be gleefully dancing on the MCU's still-fresh corpse, declaring the genre dead at last.
Let's put this into context: Marvel Studios has released upwards of 30 movies and TV shows in the Multiverse Saga (we're including second and third seasons in that) and a total of four - including Secret Invasion at 53% - have been given "Rotten" scores by critics. Four. That's hardly a disaster.
The days of the MCU being able to do no wrong are clearly gone and several of the projects referenced above have underperformed, be it in terms of viewership or box office receipts. Something needs to change as we head into the next Saga - fewer streaming shows will help with the quantity over quality problem - but the MCU isn't dead.
Even so, we'd put money on this being made while Kevin Feige's attentions were elsewhere, especially as it started shooting during what Deadpool accurately described as a "low point" for the franchise.
Still, even if Captain America: Brave New World is now the worst-reviewed movie featuring the title character, a $400 million - $500 million global haul should be enough to justify a sequel and ensure Sam Wilson gets to wield the shield beyond the next Avengers movies.
We probably wouldn't hire the director of The Cloverfield Paradox for that follow-up, though.
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.