Harrison Ford arrives at the premier of ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ on Feb. 11, 2025, at the TCL Chinese Theatre in LA. AP Photo.
Biggest Opening of 2025! Marvel’s latest superhero flick, Captain America: Brave New World, stormed into theaters with an impressive $88.5 million in ticket sales over the weekend. According to studio estimates, the Walt Disney Co. expects the film to cross $100 million domestically and $192.4 million globally by the end of Presidents' Day.
This marks the biggest box office debut of 2025, surpassing all previous releases. Marvel fans had been eagerly awaiting a blockbuster after last summer’s Deadpool & Wolverine, which revived excitement for the franchise following the underwhelming performance of The Marvels.
A New Captain America Takes the Spotlight
The film, playing in 4,105 locations across the U.S. and Canada, represents a major shift in the Captain America saga. Anthony Mackie officially takes over the shield as Sam Wilson, succeeding Chris Evans, who portrayed the character for nearly a decade. The movie also features Harrison Ford as the U.S. President, who transforms into the Red Hulk.
Disney Character Red Hulk in the image, from the movie ‘Captain America: Brave New World’.
Mixed Reviews But Strong Audience Turnout
Directed by Julius Onah, Brave New World faced challenges leading up to its release due to lukewarm reviews. The movie holds a 51% “rotten” score on Rotten Tomatoes—higher than Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (46%) and Eternals (47%) but still among the lower-rated Marvel films.
Critic Mark Kennedy from The Associated Press called it “a highly processed, empty calorie, regret-later candy of a movie.” However, audiences had a more favorable reaction, giving it an 80% verified score on Rotten Tomatoes and a CinemaScore of B-. Exit polls revealed that men made up 63% of the opening weekend audience.
Where It Stands in the MCU
Despite the mixed critical reception, the film’s earnings place it in the mid-range of MCU debuts. It landed between Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor: The Dark World in terms of box office performance. Notably, Brave New World was produced on a relatively modest budget of $180 million—significantly lower than many other Marvel blockbusters.
This is the first of three major Marvel releases in 2025, with Thunderbolts set for May and The Fantastic Four: First Steps arriving in July.
Other Top Box Office Performers
While Brave New World dominated the weekend, other films also made an impact:
- Paddington in Peru secured second place with a $13 million debut in North America. The beloved franchise’s latest installment, released by Sony, is expected to hit $16 million by Monday. The film had already grossed $104 million internationally before its U.S. release.
- Heart Eyes, a slasher by Sony and Screen Gems, climbed to third place with $10 million—up 20% from its opening weekend.
- Dog Man, which previously held the biggest 2025 opening with $36 million, took fourth place with $9.7 million.
- Chinese blockbuster Ne Zha 2 debuted on 660 North American screens, earning $7.2 million and rounding out the top five.
Streaming vs. Theaters
Meanwhile, the latest Bridget Jones film, Mad About the Boy, skipped theaters in the U.S. and premiered on Universal’s Peacock streaming service. However, in the U.K. and Ireland, it outperformed Captain America: Brave New World with an estimated $14.9 million opening. Universal reported a global total of $32.3 million across 70 territories.
Weekend Box Office Rankings (U.S. & Canada)
- Captain America: Brave New World – $88.5M
- Paddington in Peru – $13M
- Heart Eyes – $10M
- Dog Man – $9.7M
- Ne Zha 2 – $7.2M
- Love Hurts – $4.4M
- Mufasa: The Lion King – $4.2M
- One of Them Days – $3M
- Companion – $1.9M
- Becoming Led Zeppelin – $1.8M
Final domestic earnings will be released on Tuesday, but the box office is already showing a 20% increase compared to last year.
According to Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at Comscore, the superhero genre may have faced setbacks in recent years, but audiences still crave big-screen experiences. Brave New World’s performance is proof that Marvel’s magic isn’t fading just yet.
