411 Box Office Report: Captain America: Brave New World Dominates For #1

Marvel stormed the box office this weekend as Captain America: Brave New World soared to the #1 spot. The latest film in the MCU took the top position with $88.5 million through Sunday and $100 million for the four-day weekend. That’s on the high end of expectations and represents a win for the studio, which was hoping the movie could beat some negative box in order connect to movie goers.

The result is not among the MCU’s top performers including last year’s Deadpool & Wolverine, but it does present a victory in comparison to a number of its post-Endgame entries. It topped the results of Black Widow ($80.4 million), Shang-Chi & The Legend of the Ten Rings ($75.4 million), Eternals ($71.3 million), and 2023’s The Marvels ($46.1 million). Its also not far off from Spider-Man: Far From Home’s $92.3 million three-day take or the film that is perhaps its best comparison, Captain America: The Winter Soldier which started with $95 million.

Of course, there are caveats to a number of those films. Widow and Shang-Chi were pandemic openings, and Winter Soldier was a Phase Two film which was a whole different era for Marvel. Still, it’s quite a good start for a film that was hounded with negative buzz around reshoots. And that’s before you get into the fact that the film has not exactly been a critical darling, with a 50% RT critic aggregate score. But audience reaction is a bit more split; while the B- CinemaScore is the lowest for an MCU film to date, the 80% RT audience score is very solid.

The most encouraging sign for Brave New World is that it didn’t drop hard through the weekend, with holds very typical of the MCU. It is also the least expensive MCU film of the last few years with a budget of “only” $180 million. All this adds up to a film that seems primed for moderate success. It added a very solid $92 million overseas for $192 million through Monday and domestically it should be able to make it to around $240 million domestically considering the lack of blockbuster competition. That will be good enough, assuming international grosses remain decent, for it to be profitable.

Coming in a distant but decent #2 was Paddington In Peru. The family adventure threequel brought in $13 million over three days and $16 million through Monday, more or less where it was hoped to do. That’s a touch higher than the $11 million start for Paddington 2 in January of 2018.

The Paddington franchise is very popular with families; and Paddington 2 in particular is a favorite among movie-goers. The positive reaction to that film certainly benefited here, though the film is scoring high marks on its own merits with a 94% RT critic aggregate and an A CinemaScore. Those suggest the film should have strong legs – and it is already in fantastic shape since it opened overseas over the last month and even early back in the UK and Russia. It has $115.8 million internationally thus far for a $131.8 million total worldwide gross against a $75 million budget. Domestically it seems likely to make it to around $40 million, which will be enough for Sony to score a bit of profit.

The Valentine’s Day weekend was quite a boon for Heart Eyes, which actually rose in its grosses from last week. The romcom/slasher hybrid brought in $10 million through Sunday, up 20% from its opening weekend gross, and $11.1 million projected through Monday. That’s not only due to the Valentine’s Day boost but the fact that some audiences were just getting around to checking it out after skipping movies last weekend for the Super Bowl.

Heart Eyes is now well positioned for success at Sony, with $22.6 million against an $18 million budget and with international numbers not yet rolling in. It should now be able to hit around $35 million and perhaps higher if it continues to hold well, making it a winner for the studio.

Dog Man was down 30% in its third weekend as it scored $9.7 million through Sunday and $12.5 million for the four-day weekend. That’s a bit of a balm after last weekend’s heavy drop. The family animated film stands at $69.6 million domestically and $87.2 million worldwide, very solid against a $40 million budget, and should be able to get close to $80 million domestically before it closes out in theaters.

Coming in at #5 was the Chinese-language animated film Ne Zha 2. The fantasy animated adventure took in $7.3 million over three days and $8.3 million over four off just 660 theaters, an admirable bow. The film is an absolute blockbuster worldwide with $1.054 billion and while it may drop off the domestic charts quickly (a common result for foreign language films, which tend to be front-loaded), it’s a seismic success.

Love Hurts did not get the same bounce as Heart Eyes, though the same factors did mean that it had a solid drop this weekend. The action comedy was down 25% to $4.4 million through Sunday and $5 million through Sunday. That was a much-needed result for the film, which is now at a still-disappointing $12.9 million domestically and $13.9 million worldwide. It is still going to struggle to find profit in theaters against its $18 million budget plus marketing but should be able to end around $20 million stateside.

Mufasa: The Lion King was up 4% from last weekend with $4.2 million in three days and $5.3 million in four. The sequel is now up to $240.8 million stateside and $686.3 million worldwide, making it a hit for the studio against a $200 million budget despite its small start. It should land at around $250 million stateside by the end of its run.

One Of Them Days was also up 4% in its fifth weekend, taking in $3 million through Sunday and $3.3 million through Monday. The comedy is a hit for Sony Pictures with $43.9 million in the US and $44 million worldwide against budget of $14 million. It should finish off with around $48 million.

Companion was down 39% in its third weekend to bring in $1.9 million in three days and $2.2 million through four. The satirical thriller is dropping faster than was expected but is still a success with $19.1 million domestically and $33.3 million worldwide against a budget of slightly less than $10 million. It is still on course for around $23 million in the US.

The documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin held on for a second weekend in the top 10, down 30% to $1.8 million. The film is in pretty good shape with $5.5 million in the US and $6.3 million worldwide, fairly good numbers for a documentary. NO word on its budget, but Sony Pictures Classics is probably pleased here.

Next weekend should see a second weekend on top for Captain America: Brave New World. The new releases come with Osgood Perkins’ horror flick The Monkey, targeting around $20 million, and Lionsgate’s The Unbreakable Boy which should be in the mid-single digits.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Captain America: Brave New World – $88.5 million ($100 million total, $192.4 million WW)
2. Paddington In Peru – $13 million ($16 million total, $131.8 million WW)
3. Heart Eyes – $10 million ($22.6 million total, $22.6 million WW)
4. Dog Man – $9.7 million ($69.6 million total, $87.2 million WW)
5. Ne Zha 2 – $7.3 million ($8.3 million total, $1.054 billion WW)
6. Love Hurts – $4.4 million ($12.9 million total, $13.9 million WW)
7. Mufasa: The Lion King – $4.2 million ($241.9 million total, $687.4 million WW)
8. One Of Them Days – $3 million ($43.9 million total, $44 million WW)
9. Companion – $1.9 million ($19.1 million total, $33.3 million WW)
10. Becoming Led Zeppelin- $1.8 million ($5.5 million total, $6.3 million WW)