Box Office: Captain America Brave New World tops Shang-Chi's overseas earnings but break even remains distant

Despite outperforming Shang-Chi internationally, Captain America: Brave New World struggles to break even, weighed down by its massive production costs.

Written by Seema Sinha , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 29, 2025 | 06:31 PM IST | 20K

Picture Courtesy: Disney

Captain America: Brave New World will take any win at this stage in its box office run. The movie is poised to leave theaters as one of the lowest-grossing films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it recently celebrated what could be its final milestone.

The movie passed the USD 400 million mark worldwide, which would have been considered commendable had it not been made on a hefty USD 180 million budget, excluding marketing costs. The costly price tag has made it difficult for Captain America 4 to break even, and the offering has found itself in no man's land—neither a flop nor a hit. The latest superhero outing, however, has surpassed a few genre titles.

After passing Eternals globally, Brave New World has now topped the USD 207 million international box office haul of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, starring Simu Liu. Like the former film, the Simu Liu starrer debuted in 2021 when cinemas were still operating under pandemic-induced restrictions. Despite the challenges, both movies managed to gross over USD 400 million globally.

Despite their similar total grosses, Shang-Chi was considered a bigger success as it was made on a lower budget than Eternals. The movie earned USD 432 million in its lifetime, with USD 225 million coming from North American locations.

Brave New World, meanwhile, has yet to cross the USD 200 million threshold domestically.

For those unversed, the movie marks Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson’s first outing as Captain America following Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers’ retirement. The plot unfolds in the aftermath of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and sees Wilson navigating global threats and political intrigue while grappling with furthering the legacy of the shield. The film also stars Harrison Ford, Shira Haas, Liv Tyler, Carl Lumbly, Tim Blake Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Danny Ramirez, and Seth Rollins.

Directed by Julius Onah, Brave New World is also among the worst-rated MCU movies on Rotten Tomatoes, with an approval rating of 48%.

Mackie and Liu, alongside other Marvel superheroes, will reunite in Avengers: Doomsday, led by Robert Downey Jr. The film entered production this week and is set to hit theaters sometime next year.