By Critics – who truly needs them? Certainly not Captain America. Despite receiving a mixed initial response and facing criticism regarding Sam Wilson’s cinematic debut with the iconic star-spangled shield, that has not dissuaded enthusiasts from backing the new Captain, who boasts a significantly higher audience score on Rotten Tomatoes in contrast.
At the time of this writing, Captain America: Brave New World holds a 50% rating on the Tomatometer, officially marking it as rotten on the review aggregator website. This position also places it 33rd on the site’s ranking of all MCU films, just above The Eternals (47%) and below The Marvels (62%). Conversely, Marvel aficionados continue to provide support, granting Brave New World a commendable audience score of 79%. Well, the audience knows best, right? Consequently, it has a rating comparable to popular entries like Black Panther and Ant-Man and the Wasp, both of which maintain the same level of approval. Yes, Marvel fans made that call, and we’ll leave it at that.
The pressing question now is how Cap’s box office earnings will perform after finishing its opening weekend. Brave New World has already amassed $12 million in previews at the box office (according to The Numbers), with an expected total of $90 million by the end of the extended holiday weekend. Is that impressive? Compared to some of the abysmal figures from past MCU films, not particularly. However, when juxtaposed with The Marvels’ $46 million opening (which ultimately became the lowest for any MCU film), it could certainly be viewed as considerably better.
From here, it’s simply a matter of how other Marvel films will fare in the coming months. Following Sam’s standalone adventure, we will have the ensemble film, The Thunderbolts*, expected to slowly make its way into theaters on May 2. Next up is The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which aims to rejuvenate the MCU to the grand cinematic heights we all recall when it debuts on July 25. To keep you informed by then, here’s our guide to every Marvel film and TV show set to premiere in 2025.