When a movie with the Marvel name attached to it generates positive reviews, it's almost a certainty it will thrive at the box office. That axiom wasn't proven false this weekend with the three-star (by Newsday's tough standards) debut of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." It earned around $96 million at the box office this weekend, according to Entertainment Weekly. The one line bottom line from LI's daily newspaper:
"The action is bruising, the politics merely glancing, in this superhero sequel, which finds an accessible middle ground between "The Dark Knight" and, say, "Mission: Impossible."
Based on reviews and imdb ratings (I haven't seen either), the first "Captain America" wasn't quite as high quality, though it still made a lot of money. The sequel may not be in "Dark Knight" territory in terms of excellence (no comic book movie is), but it seems to be in at least "X-Men" range. Adding Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow (she's also in Marvel's "The Avengers") probably didn't hurt profits either.
Based on "Thor: The Dark World's" $85 million opening weekend and $685 overall haul in 2013, "Captain America" has a strong chance at making more.
The Marvel movies never end. I read somewhere recently they're scheduled through 2030 or something. At least some of the next ones are slightly off the beaten path, starring big-time but also first-time comic book actors.
Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Chris Pratt ("Parks and Recreation"), and Vin Diesel will star in "Guardians of the Galaxy," set to release this August. Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly ("Lost"), and Patrick Wilson ("Watchmen") will star in "Ant Man."
