“Captain America: Brave New World” is proving to be loved far more by Marvel audiences than by critics.
It seems that fans are seeing this introduction to Anthony Mackie’s Captain America as not as rotten as many critics have expressed.
Here is what fans had to say after the movie’s release on Friday, Feb 14.
Audience reactions to ‘Captain America: Brave New World’
According to the Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter, audiences gave the new movie a score of 80%.
The score was a bit unexpected since critics, with their conflicting reviews, gave it a score of 50%.
Critics feel that the film is “clunky” and a “subpar sequel,” as the Deseret News previously reported.
However, many fans on Rotten Tomatoes feel that it is “not as bad as everyone is saying.”
One verified audience member on Rotten Tomatoes said that it is a great film and that “Sam Wilson shows that the serum doesn’t make Captain America, it’s the heart.”
“Fun revival with lots of great action and good chemistry amongst the cast,” said another verified audience member on Rotten Tomatoes. “I really like Anthony Mackie’s take on Captain.”
More fans wrote comments on X about how they enjoyed the movie and that it — again — isn’t as bad as critics said it would be.
“It’s an Iron Man 2 level film, an enjoyable cohesive film, that’s also a bit messy,” wrote one fan on X.
Another X user wrote that while it’s not perfect, the film is still “a fun time and a solid MCU entry.”
Many viewers agreed with critics who felt that Anthony Mackie’s performance was great.
One viewer on X wrote, “Sam has a good chemistry w/ his partners and it can deliver the feels.”
With differing perspectives between critics and audience members, one X user wrote, “do yourself a favor and go see #CaptainAmericaBraveNewWorld with no one else’s opinion on your mind. Generate your own!”
Box office report
As the Deseret News previously reported, “Captain America: Brave New World” was predicted to have a $190 million global opening but, after critics reviews, there was speculation that it would be another Marvel movie to underperform at the box office.
But, as it turns out, the film exceeded expectations. It had a global opening of $192.4 million over the weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Marvel movie is the biggest 2025 opening yet and — at $100 million — is ranked as one of the top domestic openings for the Presidents Day holiday.
The future of the MCU
It’s no secret that Marvel has struggled with “commercial consistency” since the successful release of “Avengers: Endgame” in 2019, according to Variety.
Marvel has produced a large quantity of content since 2019 that seems to sometimes lack the same quality of the content proceeding it.
However, with a great opening weekend and a high fan rating, “Captain America: Brave New World” could be the boost Marvel needs to get back on their feet for the next phase of the MCU.