Captain America: Brave New World is Slowly Climbing the Box Office Ladder, But Can It Beat Shang-Chi’s Global Total?

The box office can be very unpredictable. Sometimes, even small-budget films become surprise hits, while big-budget blockbusters don’t always meet expectations. That’s exactly what’s happening with Captain America: Brave New World. Even though it’s part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), one of the biggest franchises in the world, this fourth Captain America movie isn’t winning over audiences like past entries have.

One of the main reasons could be the ongoing debate around superhero fatigue. Many fans and critics feel that audiences are getting tired of superhero movies, especially when there are so many of them being released each year. Despite that, if the formula works, these films can still pull in huge numbers. And that’s exactly what Captain America 4 is trying to do.

So far, the movie has managed to cross the $400 million mark at the global box office, which helped it avoid becoming one of the five lowest-grossing Marvel movies. But the big question now is: Can it beat the worldwide earnings of 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings?

Let’s take a look at the numbers.

Released in 2021, Shang-Chi earned a total of $432.24 million globally. This was a solid success, especially considering the pandemic-era release and its reported budget of around $150 million. In its domestic (U.S.) run, it made $224.5 million, while it brought in $207.7 million from international markets.

On the other hand, Captain America: Brave New World, which stars Anthony Mackie as the new Captain America, had a higher production budget—around $180 million. That means it needs to make more money than Shang-Chi just to break even and turn a real profit.

According to the latest stats from Box Office Mojo, Captain America 4 earned $1.35 million in its eighth weekend at the U.S. box office. It has now dropped to 10th place on the domestic chart and lost over 600 theaters due to the arrival of other films like A Minecraft Movie. As of now, it is playing in just 1,750 theaters in North America.

Domestically, Brave New World has reached $199.1 million, which puts it very close to beating the U.S. total of Thor: The Dark World. Overseas, the film has earned $213.75 million, making its total worldwide gross $412.8 million.

This means the movie is about $19 million short of Shang-Chi’s global total. That’s not a huge gap, but with ticket sales slowing down and fewer theaters showing the movie, it might be tough to close that distance.

Industry experts say the film is now expected to finish somewhere between $415 million and $425 million globally, which would put it just below Shang-Chi. If that prediction holds, then Captain America: Brave New World will fall short of beating Simu Liu’s debut as a Marvel superhero.

Captain America 4 was released in theaters on February 14, and while it hasn’t been a complete flop, it hasn’t lived up to the high expectations Marvel fans had either.

Only time will tell if Anthony Mackie’s take on Captain America can truly match or surpass the success of previous MCU films like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

For more such updates, stay tuned to DNA Bollywood!