The production budget for Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World has reportedly been revealed, and it’s a much smaller figure than some might expect. Tucked away in The Hollywood Reporter‘s article detailing the film’s early box office projections is a note that states Brave New World “cost around $180 million, less than many other Marvel movies.” Compared to other installments in the Captain America film series, Brave New World is slightly more expensive than 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($170-177 million). Captain America: Civil War boasted a $250 million budget, accounting for the film’s sizable cast stacked with Avengers characters.
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Captain America: Brave New World, which marks Anthony Mackie’s first time playing the titular superhero on the big screen, is set to premiere in theaters on February 14th. The Hollywood Reporter‘s estimates have the anticipated sequel grossing “at least $90 million-plus” in its opening weekend, a figure in line with initial projections of $86-95 million. It’s expected Brave New World will surpass the $100 million mark over the extended Presidents’ Day holiday weekend.
$180 million isn’t exactly a small amount of money, but it’s thrifty by Marvel standards. In recent years, the studio’s projects have sported sizable price tags; 2023’s The Marvels was reported to have a budget exceeding $270 million, and even TV series Secret Invasion cost $212 million. It’s become common for Marvel movies to have budgets of $200+ million, as was the case with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ($200-250 million), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ($250 million), and Deadpool & Wolverine ($200 million).
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In some cases, Marvel has even exceeded the $300 million mark — and not just for the Avengers films. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness cost Disney $350.6 million, while Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania cost $330.1 million. You have to go back to 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home ($160 million) to find a Marvel Cinematic Universe film with a sub-$200 million budget. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was reported to have a budget in the $150-200 million range.
Captain America: Brave New World‘s relatively smaller budget should only boost its commercial prospects; it won’t have to gross as much as other MCU titles in order to turn a profit. There’s also the fact that it ranks as the shortest Captain America film, which will allow theaters to book as many daily screenings as possible. With Brave New World set to face limited competition at the box office when it premieres in a few weeks, the film seems poised to have a lucrative theatrical run, hopefully continuing Marvel’s good fortunes after the franchise bounced back with Deadpool & Wolverine last year.
It’ll be interesting to see what the budgets are for the remaining films in the Multiverse Saga. Perhaps Disney and Marvel are making attempts to scale back costs in response to recent MCU installments (like The Marvels) performing well below expectations. Of course, in some cases (Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars), a larger budget will be necessary, but the studio shouldn’t always have to break the bank to get one of these tentpoles made. Captain America: Brave New World still features plenty of the superhero spectacle and Red Hulk action, so it’s not like $180 million hindered the filmmakers in any way.
