Captain America: Brave New World's box office performance is raising concerns. While the film has grossed nearly $300 million globally, a significant 68% drop in domestic revenue during its second weekend casts doubt on its profitability.
According to Deadline, the film's $180 million production budget necessitates a global box office gross of approximately $425 million to break even. The initial $100 million domestic opening weekend, exceeding expectations, was followed by a considerably weaker second weekend of $28.2 million. This steep decline mirrors the performance of 2023's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which ultimately failed to recoup its costs.
Despite currently sitting at an estimated $289.4 million globally ($141.2 million domestic and $148.2 million international), the second weekend's worldwide gross of $63.5 million indicates a less-than-stellar audience retention rate. Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian noted to Variety that this substantial drop represents a concerning trend for Marvel films, suggesting lower audience enthusiasm than anticipated. Deadline projects a final global gross of around $450 million.
The film's launch coincided with largely negative critical reception; IGN's review awarded it a mere 5/10, citing a lack of originality and underwhelming execution despite strong performances from the cast.
Marvel Studios and Disney are banking on a significant box office rebound for Captain America: Brave New World to counteract the recent underperformance of MCU films (excluding the successful Deadpool & Wolverine). The success of the upcoming Thunderbolts in May and The Fantastic Four: First Steps in July hinges, in part, on this film's ability to reverse the current trend.
