Brave New World’ Roars Like Red Hulk

February 17, 2025

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There was never any question whether Captain America: Brave New World would lock down the top spot at the box office over its opening weekend. However, even with the film’s cool callbacks to The Incredible Hulk (2008) and the inclusion of President “Thunderbolt” Ross’ (Harrison Ford) fiery alter ego, Red Hulk, the latest MCU entry required the four-day holiday weekend to reach an estimated $100 million domestically. Captain America 4 also performed well over the normal three-day frame with $88.5 million (per The Numbers).

Surprisingly, Brave New World performed even better than Captain America: The First Avenger ($65.1 million) over its own opening weekend. Although, when adjusted for inflation, Chris Evans’ first solo film as Steve Rogers would have made $91.8 million in today’s money (three-day), thus trumping Anthony Mackie’s first big-screen adventure as the beloved Avenger. Fortunately for Marvel Studios, fans are enjoying Captain America: Brave New World, despite the scathing reviews from the critics, which helped the new film perform well internationally en route to a healthy worldwide total of $180.9 million (three-day) and $192.4 million (four-day).

Mackie and Ford’s political superhero adventure registers a respectable 80% on the Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter, formerly the audience score, but, as mentioned, critics are bashing the movie to the tune of 50% on the Tomatometer. It’s also worth noting that only two of the MCU’s big-screen projects have scored worse RT scores than Brave New World, and those movies were Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania (46%) and Eternals (47%).

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Marvel might be celebrating its latest box office triumph, but Brave New World has the dubious honor of registering the lowest CinemaScore of any Captain America movie. Audiences coming right out of theaters gave the Mackie and Ford-led superhero flick a “B-” grade, while all the other Cap adventures scored at least an “A-” CinemaScore: Captain America: The First Avenger (A-), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (A), Captain America: Civil War (A).

The family-friendly newcomer Paddington in Peru secured the No. 2 slot at the weekend box office with an estimated $16 million (four-day) and $13 million (three-day), and director Dougal Wilson’s film boasted a far better CinemaScore (A) and was also “Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes (94% Tomatometer). Meanwhile, Sony Pictures’ horror film Heart Eyes scared up plenty of business, but found itself in a unique situation going up against Dog Man for the bronze medal.

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Sony’s scary rom-com, Heart Eyes, won the three-day weekend’s No. 3 spot with $10 million, while the animated canine adventure, Dog Man, flipped the script and took the four-day weekend’s No. 3 position with $12.5 million. Lastly, the critically acclaimed fantasy Ne Zha 2 rounded out the Top 5 with $8.3 million (four-day) and $7.3 million (three-day).

Several titles join the 2025 box office on Feb. 21, including The Monkey horror film, the Daisy Ridley-led Cleaner, and Zachary Levi’s return to the big screen in The Unbreakable Boy. However, the Marvel Cinematic Universe still has two heavy hitters locked and loaded, which are ready to follow up Captain America: Brave New World later this year. Look for the MCU’s Suicide Squad-esque Thunderbolts* to arrive in theaters on May 2, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps makes its long-awaited debut on July 25.