Box Office – Captain America: Brave New World Holds Top Spot During One of 2025’s Slowest Weekends

Captain America: Brave New World remained at the top of the domestic box office during its third weekend, despite a significant drop in overall ticket sales. As the first Marvel Cinematic Universe installment of 2025, the film continues the story set up in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the Disney+ limited series. This latest chapter follows Sam Wilson, played by Anthony Mackie, as he officially steps into the role of Captain America. His journey quickly leads him into a high-stakes confrontation involving newly elected President Thaddeus Ross, portrayed by Harrison Ford.

The film originally premiered over Presidents’ Day weekend, launching in the No. 1 spot and maintaining its lead into the following weeks. Despite the current slowdown in box office numbers, Captain America: Brave New World has continued to dominate the charts. Its performance reflects both the ongoing popularity of Marvel films and audiences’ interest in Sam Wilson’s evolution as the new Captain America.

As of Saturday morning, Captain America: Brave New World is expected to finish the weekend with a three-day total between $14.5 and $15.5 million at the domestic box office. With minimal competition, this total ensures the film will remain in the No. 1 spot for the third consecutive weekend.

Its closest new release competitor, the survival thriller Last Breath, starring Woody Harrelson, is projected to open with a modest $7.3 million. With no major challengers, Captain America: Brave New World continues to lead the box office despite an overall slowdown in ticket sales.

Overall, the domestic box office is expected to bring in just $55.5 million for the entire weekend. This makes it one of the slowest weekends of 2025 so far, only slightly ahead of Super Bowl weekend, which totaled $54.2 million. The sluggish numbers reflect a lack of major new releases, leaving holdover films to dominate the charts.

Super Bowl weekend saw the release of Heart Eyes and Love Hurts, along with the continuation of films like Dog Man, Companion, and Mufasa: The Lion King. Despite the arrival of these new titles, the box office still faced challenges, with overall ticket sales experiencing a significant decline. This trend seems to continue into the current weekend, where the box office is struggling to gain momentum, reflecting a slowdown early in the year.

With a lack of major blockbusters and the competitive presence of other forms of entertainment, such as the Super Bowl itself, moviegoing numbers have been weak. The performances of films like Heart Eyes and Love Hurts have been underwhelming, and while holdover titles have kept some theaters busy, they haven’t been enough to lift the overall box office totals. This downturn in sales highlights how tough the early months of the year can be for the industry, often marked by smaller releases and fewer big-name films to draw in audiences. Without a surge in new releases or unexpected hits, the box office could continue to face slow weekends ahead.

It Still Has Room to Grow.

Even without factoring in international earnings for the weekend, which are still being calculated, the estimated $15 million from its third domestic weekend has pushed Captain America: Brave New World past the $300 million mark globally. This milestone further solidifies its financial success, keeping it well ahead of the two lowest-grossing films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

For comparison, The Incredible Hulk (2008) finished with a worldwide total of $265.6 million, while The Marvels (2023) struggled significantly, earning only $199.7 million. The latter remains one of the rare MCU misfires, failing to recoup its reported $374 million production and marketing budget. With its steady performance, Captain America: Brave New World continues to climb, maintaining a strong position at the global box office.

Despite its steady box office performance, Captain America: Brave New World still has a long way to go before reaching profitability. With a reported production budget of $180 million, the film likely needs to earn around $450 million globally to break even, as movies typically require two-and-a-half times their budget to cover production and marketing costs. While reaching this target is possible, the film will have to maintain its momentum in the coming weeks to secure a strong final total.

One of the biggest challenges it faces is overcoming mixed reviews. Audience reception has been lukewarm, reflected in its CinemaScore of B-, the lowest ever for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film. Additionally, its Rotten Tomatoes score sits at 49%, ranking as the third-lowest in the franchise’s history, just ahead of Eternals (47%) and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (46%). These reviews could impact its staying power at the box office, making it more difficult for the film to reach its financial goals.

More Slow Weeks Could Be Coming.

It’s not surprising that the box office has seen a slowdown, even with Captain America: Brave New World leading the charts. A major factor contributing to this decline is the 97th Academy Awards, which is expected to draw a large portion of moviegoers away from theaters on Sunday. Awards season often impacts ticket sales, as audiences turn their attention to the biggest night in Hollywood. With many tuning in to see which films and performances take home the industry’s top honors, it’s understandable that box office numbers are taking a hit. However, this dip may not be a temporary setback, as the upcoming March lineup doesn’t appear to be strong enough to reverse the trend in a significant way.

Several films set to debut in March are not guaranteed box office hits, which could lead to continued struggles for theaters. The Jack Quaid action-comedy Novocaine and Disney’s live-action Snow White remake have generated mixed expectations, with uncertainty surrounding their potential performance. Additionally, Bong Joon-ho’s highly anticipated Mickey 17, his follow-up to Parasite, remains a wildcard in terms of how well it will perform in North America. While it has the potential to attract moviegoers, its success will depend on audience reception and word-of-mouth. Unless a surprise hit emerges, the box office may continue facing challenges throughout the month, leading to one of the slower periods of 2025 so far.