Captain: America Brave New World opens in just over three weeks, and the press tour has officially begun. Anthony Mackie was in Rome with a couple of Disney executives to kick it off, begging the question of where is Danny Ramirez? He is a one-man charm offensive, get Danny Ramirez out here, ASAP.
I have not been super impressed with the trailers for Brave New World, though the “get your tickets” trailer released last week is pretty sharp. I really like the editing, especially that transition right off the top.
I’m still expecting Marvel to get kicked in the teeth with this one—at no point has anyone I’ve talked to sounded confident about it—but the film is tracking for a $95 million opening weekend. If they actually deliver $90+ million, that’s not bad. Some people might sell it as doom and gloom, but for 1) a new character taking over a legacy mantle, 2) after a period of mediocre to bad box office results, 3) in February, $90+ million would not be bad. It’s actually in line with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which opened to $95 million in 2014. That would be holding the line, if not improving the bag. At this point, though, Marvel should worry less about box office dominance and more about just getting back to consistently delivering well received films that don’t tank.
Of course, with Brave New World opening on February 14 and the Super Bowl happening the Sunday before, you know what that means—a big new Marvel trailer is coming. They can premiere it at the Super Bowl and then stick it on Brave New World in theaters, it’s the perfect time for, say, a first look at The Fantastic Four: First Steps (still a stupid title). We’ve gotten a good look at Thunderbolts* already, and Fantastic Four is due in July. Now’s a good time for a first look to start that hype train. (Also, Fantastic Four and Superman are coming out just two weeks apart. That…does not look wise, for either of them.) It’s also a potential boon to Brave New World, to lure nerds into theaters on opening weekend to see the Fantastic Four trailer on a big screen. It’s Anthony Mackie’s brave new world, but it looks an awful like a stepping stone to bigger and better things at Marvel.
