Captain America: Brave New World landed $12 million in Thursday previews at the domestic box office as Marvel Studios attempts to reboot the franchise with an entirely new cast — and deliver a solid swing for Marvel Studios.
That puts the year’s first tentpole to open to $90 million-plus over the four-day Valentine’s Day/Presidents Day weekend, one of the top showings ever for the holiday and in line with pre-release tracking. That’s the same weekend the first Deadpool opened, as well as Marvel’s Black Panther and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which debuted to $120 million over the three-day Presidents Day weekend in 2023 after earning $17.5 million in previews.
For the three days, Brave New World is expected to earn $80 million-plus. Its preview gross is not too far behind such films as Captain America: Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy and the first Ant Man and the Wasp. (Quantumania did $17.5 million in previews.)
Overseas, the tentpole opens everywhere, including in China, Japan and South Korea, and is expecting to collect $100 million.
Reviewers haven’t been so kind to film, but audiences feel differently. While the movie’s critics’ score is 52 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, it boasts a 79 percent audience ranking.
Marvel, which had to take serious stock of its strategy and future after several films faltered, culminating with The Marvels, is in a far better place now thanks to the stunning success of Deadpool & Wolverine, which became the top-grossing R-rated pic of all time after earning north of $1.3 billion globally in the summer of 2024. The studio is hoping for a solid swing with Captain America, which faced its share of challenges in getting to the big screen.
It’s back to the basics when it comes to the new movie, which sees Anthony Mackie‘s Sam Wilson take up the mantle of Captain America, the hero previously played by Chris Evans. It cost around $180 million to produce before than marketing, less than many other Marvel movies. Also, the movie stays away from sci-fi elements and the multiverse and has been described by Marvel boss Kevin as a “relatively grounded action film,” akin to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the 2014 film that starred Evans and introduced Mackie to the MCU. (Put another way, no multi-verse.)
Directed by Julius Onah, Brave New World also stars Harrison Ford as newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, who wants to bring Captain America aboard in an official military position. But before Wilson can make a decision, he uncovers a nefarious global plot that includes facing off with Ross when the president unexpectedly transforms into the Red Hulk.
Danny Ramirez also stars, portraying Joaquin Torres/Falcon, alongside Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson and Rosa Salazar.
Captain America: Brave New World opens officially in the U.S. on Valentine’s Day opposite Studio Canal’s latest installment in the beloved Paddington franchise (Columbia Pictures/Sony is distributing the threequel domestically) The critical darling — which collected $600,000 in previews, is tracking to open in the $15 million to $17 million range domestically. Overseas, it has already earned $104.0 million internationally, including $19 million from Sony-distributed markets.
Paddington in Peru, with a pricetag of $90 million, was developed and fully-financed by StudioCanal, which is also a partner on Universal and Working Title’s Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, the long-awaited fourth and final installment in the series, headlined by Renée Zellweger.
Bridget Jones is going straightly to Universal’s streaming service Peacock in the U.S. in a Valentine’s gift to existing subscribers and in a bid to lure to subs. It is getting a theatrical release overseas, where it is expected to do big business in the U.K and Australia.