Captain America: Brave New World is inching closer to a global box office total of $300 million, yet a significant 68% drop in domestic earnings during its second weekend poses a challenge for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film to reach its break-even point. According to Deadline, the movie, which stars Anthony Mackie, was produced with a budget of $180 million and needs to hit around $425 million to break even.
The film made an impressive $100 million domestically during the Presidents Day weekend, surpassing initial estimates. However, its second weekend saw a sharp decline, bringing in just $28.2 million domestically. This drop mirrors the performance of 2023's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which also struggled to break even.
After two weekends, Captain America: Brave New World has accumulated an estimated $289.4 million globally, with $141.2 million from the domestic market and $148.2 million from international markets, as reported by Comscore. The film's second weekend brought in $63.5 million worldwide.
Despite being the biggest release of 2025 so far, the hope was for a less severe second-weekend drop, especially with no major competing blockbusters on the horizon. Paul Dergarabedian, a senior analyst at Comscore, commented to Variety, “This is the new normal for Marvel movies. There’s still no denying these movies have appeal. But a second weekend drop of 68% reflects less audience enthusiasm than you’d expect from Marvel.”
Deadline predicts that Captain America: Brave New World will likely end its theatrical run with approximately $450 million globally.
The film launched amidst lukewarm reviews, with IGN's Captain America: Brave New World review giving it a middling score of 5/10. Our review noted, “Captain America: Brave New World feels neither brave, nor all that new, falling short of strong performances from Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, and Carl Lumbly.”
Marvel Studios and its parent company, Disney, are banking on Captain America: Brave New World to regain momentum and reverse the recent negative trend affecting MCU films, with the exception of last year's successful Deadpool & Wolverine. The film's performance is crucial as it sets the stage for upcoming releases like Thunderbolts* in May and The Fantastic Four: First Steps in July.
