It is a flop.
It’s no surprise that Captain America: Brave New World is getting negative reviews from critics. The film currently holds a 43 on Metacritic (based on 37 reviews) and a 52% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Set to release Friday, the movie was initially projected to make $90 million over its opening weekend. However, with these underwhelming reviews now out in the open, it’s unclear if the film will hit that target. In today’s market, reviews can heavily impact a film’s box office performance, especially for major blockbusters like this one.
It’s been six years since Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans) passed on the Captain America mantle to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) in Avengers: Endgame. Wilson takes the lead in Julius Onah’s Captain America: Brave New World, which experienced disastrous test screenings in 2023 and 2024, along with significant reshoots. In fact, two separate cuts of the film were shown in different theaters during test screenings in 2024—a red flag in the industry. Back in November, I reported that Onah had essentially been sidelined during the reshoots, with my source describing it as him being “set aside to watch.”
So, what was the last solid MCU movie? For me, it would likely be Avengers: Endgame from 2019, which felt like the conclusion of an era. Since then, we’ve seen Black Widow, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, The Marvels, Eternals, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania—none of which have had the same impact.
Marvel is hoping that Thunderbolts and Fantastic Four will turn things around later this year, but without critical support, it’s tough for these films to perform well at the box office. Critics seem to have lost interest in the MCU, no longer backing its releases.
Meanwhile, James Gunn is working to bring his own version of success to the DC Universe with upcoming projects like Superman: Legacy this summer and Supergirl in 2026. There’s no clear indication yet that these films will be successful, but fans are certainly hopeful. We’ll have to wait and see.
