The new movie, fronted by Brie Larson, is a historic first from Marvel Studios; in which a female character is the sole titular hero. While reviews have all been generally enthusiastic, many have pointed out the generally formulaic structure, and criticised the pace for taking too long to get going. So how does Captain Marvel REALLY square up with other MCU hits?
There have been 21 movies in the MCU thus far, starting with Iron Man back in 2008.
Ranking them all by Rotten Tomatoes score, Captain Marvel’s 82% puts it in 13th place; tied with Ant-Man.
That tally is, at time of writing, based on 237 reviews.
The consensus reads: “Packed with action, humour, and visual thrills, Captain Marvel introduces the MCU’s latest hero with an origin story that makes effective use of the franchise’s signature formula.”
So what movies does it lag behind, and which does it top?
Ranking by the same metric – Rotten Tomatoes score – the film comes ahead of seven other MCU movies.
Here they all are, in order:
1. Black Panther (97%)
2. Iron Man (93%)
=3. Thor: Ragnarok (92%)
=3. Spider-Man: Homecoming (92%)
=3. The Avengers (92%)
=6. Captain America: Civil War (91%)
=6. Guardians of the Galaxy (91%)
8. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (90%)
9. Doctor Strange (89%)
10. Ant-Man and the Wasp (88%)
11. Avengers: Infinity War (85%)
12. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (84%)
=13. Ant-Man (82%)
=13. Captain Marvel (82%)
=15. Iron Man 3 (80%)
=15. Captain America: The First Avenger (80%)
17. Thor (77%)
18. Avengers: Age of Ultron (75%)
19. Iron Man 2 (73%)
20. The Incredible Hulk (67%)
21. Thor: The Dark World (66%)
Latest forecasts suggest Captain Marvel is heading for a super-powered box office debut in the US this weekend.
Yesterday Deadline predicted it would amass between $20-$24 million from Thursday previews alone, though these were rough estimates and will likely be clearer later today.
The box office in 2019 so far is looking pretty weak across the board – so industry hopes will be pegged on the first big hit of the year.
Read an Express.co.uk verdict on Captain Marvel here – and a different perspective here.
Captain Marvel is out now.