Captain Marvel, Marvel Studio’s first female-led film, hits theaters March 8. The film, which follows Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) as she struggles to rediscover her hidden past on Earth and to keep galactic peace in the Kree–Skrull War, is the 21st installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a megafranchise that began in 2008 with Iron Man. Actors in supporting roles include Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson), Lee Pace (Ronan the Accuser), and Djimon Hounsou (Korath), all of whom reprise their roles from previous films; Jude Law, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Annette Bening, and, of course, Stan Lee in a posthumous cameo.

Captain Marvel serves as a prequel to most of the MCU to date, as it takes place in 1995. The film will serve as a prequel to the upcoming Avengers: Endgame, which will be the coup de grâce of the (what will be) 22 film MCU up until this point. Captain Marvel is expected to play a key role in Endgame.

According to Box Office Mojo, Captain Marvel raked in $20.7 million in the U.S. from Thursday night previews and $44 million in foreign box office; it also predicts the film will earn $155 million domestically during its open weekend against a $152 million dollar production budget. So far, the MCU has grossed over $17 billion worldwide.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, Captain Marvel has received positive reviews from 82 percent of critics who have reviewed it, with an average score of 6.88/10. Conversely, only 34 percent of the audience liked the film, although this number is largely attributed to a review bomb campaign conducted to reduce the film’s commercial success due to people’s disapproval of the film’s feminist agenda.

Sources

Agar, Chris. “Captain Marvel Movie Budget: How Much Did It Cost To Make?” Screen Rant, Screen Rant, 6 Mar. 2019, screenrant.com/captain-marvel-movie-budget-cost/.

“Captain Marvel (2019).” Box Office Mojo, IMDb, www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=marvel2018a.htm.

“Captain Marvel (2019).” Rotten Tomatoes, Fandango, www.rottentomatoes.com/m/captain_marvel.

“Eyes Turn to ‘Captain Marvel’ to Give the 2019 Box Office a Boost.” Box Office Mojo, IMDb, www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4492&p=.htm.

Lowry, Brian. “’Captain Marvel’ Takes off as Marvel Tests Limits of Its Universe.” CNN, Cable News Network, 8 Mar. 2019, www.cnn.com/2019/03/08/entertainment/captain-marvel-and-marvel-universe/index.html.

“Marvel Cinematic Universe.” Box Office Mojo, IMDb, www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=avengers.htm.