The latest installment in the Captain America saga, Captain America: Brave New World</, featuring Anthony Mackie in the lead role, has achieved a significant milestone by surpassing the audience score of 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, which starred Chris Evans. Released on February 14, 2025, Brave New World holds an impressive 80% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to the 75% audience score of The First Avenger. While The First Avenger boasts over 100,000 ratings, Brave New World has garnered around 5,000 ratings so far, indicating that these figures could fluctuate as the film continues its theatrical run.
Interestingly, despite the positive reception from audiences, Brave New World has a critic score of only 51%, which pales in comparison to the 80% critics’ score of The First Avenger. Julius Onah, the director of the new film, recently discussed his collaboration with iconic actor Harrison Ford, who plays President Thaddeus Ross in the movie.
In its opening weekend, Brave New World achieved the highest box office earnings of 2025 thus far. During its previews and opening day, the film made an impressive $40 million across 4,105 domestic locations, according to Variety. This strong debut outperformed the second-highest opening of the year, Universal’s animated feature Dog Man, which earned $36 million in its opening weekend.
This new release marks Mackie’s debut as Captain America, having taken up the mantle from Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers in Avengers: Endgame (2019). Mackie has previously portrayed Sam Wilson, known as Falcon, in multiple MCU films. However, Brave New World faces a challenge in recouping its $180 million production budget, not including marketing costs. By contrast, The First Avenger had a production budget of $140 million and went on to earn $370.5 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
Joe Russo, a filmmaker not associated with the Russo Brothers, shared his thoughts on the mediocre reviews for Brave New World on X. He stated, “It isn’t a bad movie. The problem is, the whole story is building toward Red Hulk, and Disney gave it away in the marketing. The audience is ahead of the movie the whole time. They chose butts in seats over storytelling, and that’s why reviews are bad.” This comment quickly gained traction on social media.
In addition to Russo’s remarks, Onah commented during an interview with Collider that the film “cements Captain America and Sam Wilson as our new Captain America as a leader of the Avengers going forward.” Mackie has been confirmed as part of the cast for the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, directed by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo, which is set to begin filming in England in March and will be released on May 1, 2026.
The evolving audience scores and mixed critical reviews surrounding Captain America: Brave New World signify a remarkable transition within the MCU, as Chris Evans’ legacy is succeeded by a new protagonist, allowing for fresh storylines and character development in future films.
