After a full month in theaters, Captain America: Brave New World has officially crossed $388 million globally at the box office, with $185 million of that coming from domestic ticket sales. While some media outlets have rushed to frame this milestone as a triumph, especially as the film edged past the box office totals of Ant-Man, Thor, and Black Widow, the reality tells a very different story.
Captain America: Brave New World has surpassed Black Widow at the box office, becoming the 31st highest-grossing film in the #MCU.#CaptainAmericaBraveNewWorld #Marvel #MCUBoxOffice #MovieNews pic.twitter.com/zKqi9LjsBV
— Marvel Updates (@Updates4Marvel) March 16, 2025
This is actually a horrifically embarrassing loss for Disney Marvel, and we’re going to explain why…
Media Scrambling for a Win
Headlines are now trumpeting that Brave New World has outgrossed those three films, but such comparisons leave out crucial context.
Captain America/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) in Marvel Studios‘ CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2024 MARVEL.
Let’s break it down:
Ant-Man grossed $180 million domestically in 2015. However, when it was released, the average movie ticket price was $8.43. In 2025, that number has climbed to $11.31. Factor in the growth of premium formats like IMAX, Dolby Cinema, and 4DX—which sell tickets at even higher prices—and it becomes clear that Ant-Man sold significantly more tickets despite its lower dollar total.
Thor, likewise, earned $181 million domestically. When Thor hit theaters, ticket prices were even lower, averaging $7.93. Again, adjusted for inflation and current ticket prices, more people went to see Thor than are showing up for Brave New World today, despite the MCU being far less established at that time and Chris Hemsworth being relatively unknown.
(L-R): Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and Yelena (Florence Pugh) in Marvel Studios’ BLACK WIDOW, in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved
Black Widow pulled in $183 million at the domestic box office during the height of the global health crisis in 2021. Crucially, Disney also released the film on Disney+ with a premium access fee, which earned an additional $60 million on opening weekend alone—a number not reflected in its box office total. When you factor in that extra revenue, Captain America hasn’t come close to matching Black Widow’s real box office earnings.
It should be noted that this was a movie that came out at a time in which people were advised not to leave their houses…
The Reality: A Franchise in Decline
It’s taken an entire month and a near-empty competition schedule for Brave New World to crawl past films that are either over a decade old, released during far more challenging circumstances, or operating without the benefit of Marvel’s modern brand recognition.
Captain America/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) in Marvel Studios’ CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2024 MARVEL
Worse still, the film has slipped further down the box office charts week after week. Last weekend, Brave New World grossed a meager $5 million domestically, falling behind Mickey 17, Novocaine, and Black Bag. Despite holding the #1 spot for three weekends, this week marks yet another sign that its momentum has all but dried up.
Ballooning Costs and Troubled Production
While the media continues to report that Brave New World cost $180 million to produce, numerous industry insiders have suggested otherwise. With extensive reshoots, costly rewrites, and the addition of Giancarlo Esposito’s character late in the production, estimates peg the true production budget closer to $350–$375 million. That figure doesn’t include marketing costs, which could push the total spend well north of $400 million.
At $388 million globally, the film is nowhere near profitability. A movie of this size likely requires $800–$900 million to break even, once accounting for marketing expenses, distribution fees, and theater cuts.
Negative Reception and Ongoing Struggles
It also doesn’t help that Brave New World has struggled critically. It currently holds the second-lowest critic score in MCU history and has faced widespread backlash from audiences and fans. The Anthony Mackie-led film has not replicated the success of its Captain America predecessors, falling far short of The Winter Soldier or Civil War, both of which soared past $700 million globally with far stronger openings.
Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America in Marvel Studios’ CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD. Photo by Eli Adé. © 2024 MARVEL.
The fact that it took Brave New World an entire month to barely edge out films like Thor, Ant-Man, and Black Widow—each of which had their own obstacles—is a stark reminder of just how much the MCU has faltered in recent years. Media outlets may be eager to spin this as a win, but the numbers don’t lie. This is a clear indication of audience fatigue, poor word-of-mouth, and a product weighed down by troubled production and declining trust in the Marvel brand.
How do you feel about the Captain America: Brave New World box office? Sound off in the comments below and let us know!
And you missed out the most important factor: inflation!
Thor’s $181mn in 2011 is $257mn today
Ant-Man’s $180mn in 2015 is $242mn today
Even Black Widow’s $183mn (excluding streaming) as recently as 2021 is $215mn today ($286mn inc. streaming)
This is a disastrous flop for the DEI-infected MCU
Plus it’s Captain America. Not black widda’. Not Ant Man. They don’t have nearly the same cache.
Thor was the first big solo character movie introduced after Iron Man.
Those are major factors.
BNW is not a success. Disney’s MCU has 35 movies out so far. Do these urinalists know where this one lies on the earnings list? 31. It’s the fourth worst-earning movie out of them all and that’s including adjustments for inflation.
How are they going to react to the FF movie coming in the next three months? If it does worse, they’ll lose their minds over it and do this all over again. If it does better, what does that say about their efforts to shill for BNW?
Captain BLM was made by morons for morons. People sense this, and the liar MSM Shill media, talking it up, they just make fools of themselves.
I’m rarely on X, but the comments clowning Marvel for that post are absolutely hilarious.