Calling Sam Wilson! “Captain America: Brave New World” hits theaters this weekend, and Marvel’s latest adventure hopes to thaw a frozen box office.
“Captain America: Brave New World,” in which the Avenger (Anthony Mackie) takes control of Steve Rogers’ (Chris Evans) shield, is aiming to gross $80 million to $85 million over the traditional weekend and $90 million to $95 million over the President’s Day holiday. The film, which cost more than $180 million to make before marketing, will hit approximately 4,100 North American theaters.
Director: Julius Onah
Writers: Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson
Stars: Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Danny Ramirez
The film is expected to add another $110 million at the international box office, though it will compete in China with “Ne Zha 2,” which has become the country’s highest-grossing opening ever at $1.1 billion and counting, and “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy,” which is going straight to Peacock in the U.S. but playing in theaters elsewhere.
Considering there’s been no competition in the U.S., “Captain America” will easily score the biggest domestic debut of the year. Those projected ticket sales are somewhere in the middle of post-pandemic outings in Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe. They’re above 2021’s “Eternals” ($71 million to start), “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” ($75 million to start) and 2023’s “The Marvels” ($46 million to start), which were all commercial disappointments by MCU standards, but below recent franchise bright spots like 2022’s “Thor: Love and Thunder” ($144 million to start), “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” ($187 million to start) and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” ($181 million to start), and 2023’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” ($118 million to start).
Aside from “Deadpool & Wolverine,” last year’s billion-dollar R-rated comic book hit that introduced two of the most popular comic book characters, the MCU has struggled at the box office. The third installment of “Guardians” triumphed with $845 million worldwide, but other 2023 releases, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “The Marvels,” were embarrassing flops, the rare money-losing installments in the sprawling 35-film franchise. Superhero movies, once a sure bet in theaters, have been in a slump. Marvel Studios has two other big productions on the calendar for the next few months: “Thunderbolts” on May 2 and “Fantastic Four: First Steps” on July 25.
“Captain America: Brave New World” picks up from the events of the Disney+ series “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” and “Avengers: Endgame,” which ended with Steve Rogers going back in time and giving up his superhero duties in favor of growing old gracefully with the love of his life. Shortly after Sam Wilson took over, he finds himself at the center of an international catastrophe after Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford) was elected president of the United States. Julius Onah (“The Cloverfield Paradox”) directed the film.
Cap isn’t the only newcomer to theaters. Sony’s “Paddington in Peru,” the third story about the marmalade-loving bear, also opens Friday. The film is aiming to gross $15 million to $17 million over the four-day holiday. It’s playing on 3,700 screens in North America.
“Paddington 3” has already opened at the international box office, where the film has grossed $103 million to date. The first two films in the “Paddington” series, based on the children’s series by British author Michael Bond, have been more commercially successful overseas, and the third installment looks to continue that trend.
Paul King, who directed the first two films, has handed over to Dougal Wilson for his feature directorial debut. The story, which we hope is not a spoiler, takes Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) to Peru. He goes to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy (voiced by Imelda Staunton), who now resides at the Retired Bears Home. Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer, Antonio Banderas and Olivia Colman round out the live-action cast.
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