‘Deadpool’ Creator Says Kevin Feige Should ‘Get Off the Mound. He’s Spent’ as ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Suffers Huge Box Office Drop

“Captain America: Brave New World” fell at the box office with a 68% drop in its second weekend, marking the third biggest drop of the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far after flops “The Marvels” (78% drop) and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” (69% drop). “Deadpool” creator Rob Liefeld reacted to the news with a blunt statement on X about the president of Marvel Studios: “Get Feige off the mound. He’s spent.”

Liefeld announced earlier this month that he is cutting ties with Marvel after he and his family weren’t invited to Disney’s afterparty at last July’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” premiere. He said on his podcast at the time that Disney’s decision was “meant to embarrass, diminish and defeat me.” Liefeld has also called out other issues he has with Marvel, including what he perceives to be a lack of respect from Feige. Disney and Marvel Studios declined to comment.

As for “Captain America: Brave New World,” the movie opened to a reasonably strong $100 million over the four-day President’s Day holiday this month, but negative reviews and poor word of mouth resulted in a hefty drop in its second weekend. While the sequel’s 68% decline is in the same ballpark as “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and “Thor: Love and Thunder,” those 2022 films had much bigger debuts. The latest “Captain America” film cost north of $180 million before marketing. It’s earned $289.4 worldwide to date.

“This is the new normal for Marvel movies,” senior Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Variety about “Brave New World’s” steep dropoff. “There’s still no denying these movies have appeal, and ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ will likely threepeat at the box office. But a second weekend drop of 68% reflects less audience enthusiasm than you’d expect from Marvel.”

Not all recent Marvel movies have suffered a similar fate. James Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” was well received by fans in 2023 and dropped a strong 47% in its second weekend after a $118 million debut. Last year’s record-breaking blockbuster “Deadpool & Wolverine” also had a strong box office run. It opened to $211 million and dropped 53% in its second weekend to $97 million.