Captain America: Brave New World Achieves Controversial Landmark Rating on Rotten Tomatoes

Overview of Captain America: Brave New World

Captain America: Brave New World showcases a notable split in reception, with critics rating it at 50% compared to an audience score of 80%, resulting in a striking 30% gap.
The film has achieved significant commercial success, amassing over $192 million globally within its first week, despite the mixed critical feedback.
There is concern that **Rotten Tomatoes** scores may not be reliable indicators of film quality, particularly within the **Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)**, where audience sentiment can greatly influence perceptions.

Is Captain America: Brave New World the most contentious addition to the MCU? Recent ratings from **Rotten Tomatoes** would suggest it is, given the stark contrast in scores. Starring **Anthony Mackie**, this film is currently available in theaters worldwide, and its polarizing reception highlights a trend increasingly evident in Marvel franchises.

Marvel films often spark debates among audiences and critics alike. This latest installment joins the ranks of divisive releases, evidenced by its mixed scores on Rotten Tomatoes, which utilizes two distinct metrics: the critics’ Tomatometer and the audience’s Popcornmeter. The difference in ratings for **Brave New World** is particularly noteworthy.

Audiences Divided Over Captain America: Brave New World

Disparity Between Critic and Audience Reviews

Sam Wilson in Captain America: Brave New World

As of February 18, 2025, **Brave New World** holds a 50% rating on the Tomatometer from 258 reviews while enjoying an audience score of 80% based on over 5, 000 ratings. This significant 30% discrepancy positions it as the third most polarizing MCU film, alongside **Eternals**.For context, only **Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania** (35% difference) and **Captain Marvel** (34% difference) showcase larger gaps.

MCU Movie	Score Disparity	Critics’ Score	Audience Score
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania	35%	46%	81%
Captain Marvel	34%	79%	45%
Captain America: Brave New World	30%	50%	80%
Eternals	30%	47%	77%
The Marvels	18%	62%	80%

Interestingly, **Brave New World** appears to have eclipsed most Marvel TV shows on **Disney+**, except for **She-Hulk: Attorney at Law**, which stands out with a remarkable 47% gap between its Tomatometer score of 79% and an audience score of 32%.This trend among recent post-**Endgame** Marvel films suggests a complex relationship with both audiences and critics, possibly requiring reflection on the direction moving forward.

Mixed Critical Reviews, Yet Box Office Triumph

Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World

Despite predominantly mixed critiques, the box office performance of **Captain America: Brave New World** tells a different story. As of February 17, 2025, the film has managed to pool in an impressive $192.4 million globally, with $100 million from domestic markets and $92.4 million internationally. To achieve profitability, it needs to gross around $425 million, considering its production budget of $180 million.

Nonetheless, if the film seeks to overcome its critical shortcomings and surpass its minimum earnings requirement, it must achieve what past underperformers within the MCU have failed to do. Currently, it stands as one of the lowest-rated MCU films on Rotten Tomatoes, following **Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania** and **Eternals**, which both experienced significant discrepancies in scores and ultimately fell short at the box office.

Is the MCU’s Fandom Hindering Its Future?

Audience Scores Could Misrepresent Film Quality

Ironically, the very success of the MCU could pose challenges for its future. Even when films aren’t critically acclaimed, they often still perform strongly at the box office. The unwavering support from a loyal fan base contributes significantly to positive audience scores, which often leads to more favorable Rotten Tomatoes ratings despite critical reviews.

I feel like #CaptainAmericaBraveNewWorld is a film people are going to watch themselves today, and realize that it’s not nearly as bad as the RT score suggests or the narrative around it has been. It’s an Iron Man 2 level film, an enjoyable cohesive film, that’s also a bit messy pic.twitter.com/tlTaEGjyio

— Rayyan*𐑠𐑥 (@RayyanTCG) February 13, 2025

Marvel’s Success Has Thrived on Inclusive Appeal

Fans who express frustration over perceived declines in the MCU often dismiss critics’ perspectives as out of touch. A deeper look into the highest-rated MCU films reveals that classics such as **Avengers: Endgame**, **Guardians of the Galaxy**, and **Captain America: The Winter Soldier** not only feature stellar critic scores but also enjoy high audience ratings that reflect a balance in approval.

The MCU’s past accomplishments stemmed from its ability to create films that resonated with critics, general audiences, and die-hard comic book fans alike. Recent successes like **Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings** and **Spider-Man: No Way Home** exemplify this balance, having received excellent scores and significant box office success. Interestingly, while films like **Deadpool & Wolverine** show a notable gap in scores, they are still celebrated as valuable entries in the MCU.

The Debate Over the Relevance of Rotten Tomatoes Scores

Fan Votes Influence Perception of Quality

A high Rotten Tomatoes score does not necessarily equate to a film’s quality. For instance, within the MCU, **Black Widow** holds a 79% critics’ rating versus a 91% audience score, while **Black Panther** boasts a 96% critics’ rating alongside a more modest 79% audience score. These discrepancies reveal the potential divergence between critical reception and general audience enjoyment.

MCU Phase	Average Critics’ Score	Average Audience Score
Phase 1	80%	78%
Phase 2	81%	84%
Phase 3	89%	83%
Phase 4	75%	88%
Phase 5* (ongoing)	63%	80%

This pattern becomes even more pronounced when averaging scores across the different Marvel phases. Furthermore, audience scores are often composed of enthusiastic fans, which indicates that unless a film suffers from severe review-bombing, these scores primarily reflect fan loyalty rather than the actual quality of the film.

Learning from Captain America: Brave New World

While it may be premature to fully assess the long-term effects of Captain America: Brave New World on the MCU, it has certainly faced a rocky road leading to its release, including numerous production challenges and rewrites. With future projects like **Thunderbolts** and **The Fantastic Four** on the horizon, Marvel must carefully analyze audience reception across different demographics to enhance their storytelling and develop compelling narratives for both critics and fans alike.

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