This image released by Disney shows Anthony Mackie in a scene from Marvel Studios' 'Captain America: Brave New World.'Eli Adé/The Associated Press
Captain America: Brave New World infused some blockbuster cash into the North American box office, bringing in US$88.5-million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Walt Disney Co. release is by far the biggest opener of 2025 and the company predicts it will hit US$100-million domestically and US$192.4 globally by the end of Monday’s Presidents Day holiday.
It’s Marvel’s first major release since Deadpool & Wolverine broke records last summer and re-energized a Marvel fan base that some worried was weakening after the poor showing for The Marvels.
Playing in 4,105 locations in the U.S. and Canada, Brave New World is also a major transition for the Captain America brand: Anointing Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson as the new Cap, officially taking over from Chris Evans, who played the character for almost a decade. Harrison Ford co-stars as the U.S. President who transforms into the Red Hulk.
But Brave New World, directed by Julius Onah, had a bit of a handicap going into the weekend: Poor reviews, though superhero movies can soar without the stamp of approval from critics. The film is currently sitting at 51 per cent “rotten” on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s not the worst in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – Eternals has a 47 per cent rating and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania has a 46 per cent – but the latest film is definitely on the very low end of the spectrum.
In his review for the Associated Press, Mark Kennedy wrote that it is, “a highly processed, empty calorie, regret-later candy of a movie.”
Audiences were more generous in their opinions. The “verified audience score” from Rotten Tomatoes was 80 per cent and its CinemaScore was a B-. Exit polls showed that men made up 63 per cent of the opening weekend audience.
The bar for biggest opening of the year wasn’t terribly high: Dog Man held the title for two weeks with its US$36-million launch.
And Brave New World’s showing is the middle range for an MCU film. Not accounting for inflation, it sits between Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor: The Dark World.
It also cost significantly less than many of the big budget Marvel movies, with a reported production price tag of US$180 million, excluding the millions spent on marketing and promotion.
After only one Marvel movie in 2024, Brave New World is the first of three major theatrical releases set for 2025. It is to be followed by Thunderbolts (asterisk) in May and The Fantastic Four: First Steps in July.
“The superhero genre has taken a hit over the past few years, but audiences still have a huge interest in seeing them on the big screen,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for comScore.
Second place at this week’s box office went to Paddington in Peru, the third instalment in the beloved franchise, which finally opened in North America this weekend. Released by Sony, it earned an estimated US$13-million and should hit US$16-million by Monday. The StudioCanal film opened in the United Kingdom in early November 2024 and went into the weekend with US$104-million from its international run.
Dougal Wilson took over directing duties for Paul King for this film, which also recast Emily Mortimer as Mrs. Brown, originally played by Sally Hawkins. The other main cast, including Ben Whishaw as Paddington’s voice, remained intact.
Sony and Screen Gems’ slasher Heart Eyes landed in third place with US$10-million, up 20 per cent from its opening last weekend. Fourth place went to Dog Man with US$9.7-million.
The Chinese blockbuster Ne Zha 2 rounded out the top five. It opened on 660 screens in North America and made US$7.2-million. Overall, the box office is up 20 per cent from last year.
This weekend also saw the release of a new Bridget Jones movie, subtitled Mad About the Boy, which went straight to Universal’s streaming service Peacock, forgoing theatres in the U.S. In the U.K. and Ireland it made an estimated US$14.9-million, outgrossing Captain America: Brave New World. Universal Pictures International reported US$32.3-million in grosses from all 70 territories.
Final domestic figures will be released Tuesday. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to comScore:
1. Captain America: Brave New World, US$88.5-million.
2. Paddington in Peru, US$13-million.
3. Heart Eyes, US$10-million.
4. Dog Man, US$9.7-million.
5. Ne Zha 2, US$7.2-million.
6. Love Hurts, US$4.4-million.
7. Mufasa: The Lion King, US$4.2-million.
8. One of Them Days, US$3-million.
9. Companion, US$1.9-million.
10. Becoming Led Zeppelin, US$1.8-million.