The film began as a concept in 1997 and was scheduled for distribution byArtisan Entertainment. However, a lawsuit disrupted the project and was not settled until September 2003. In 2005, Marvel Studios received a loan fromMerrill Lynch, and planned to finance and release the film through Paramount Pictures. DirectorsJon Favreau andLouis Leterrier were interested in directing the project before Johnston was approached in 2008. The principal characters were cast between March and June 2010. Production began in June, and filming took place inLondon,Manchester,Caerwent,Liverpool, andLos Angeles. Several different techniques were used by the visual effects companyLola to create the physical appearance of the character before he becomes Captain America.
Captain America: The First Avenger premiered at theEl Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on July 19, 2011, and was released in the United States on July 22, as part ofPhase One of the MCU. The film was commercially successful, grossing over $370 million worldwide, and received positive reviews from critics, who praised Evans' performance, the film's depiction of its 1940s time period, and Johnston's direction. Two direct sequels have been released:Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) andCaptain America: Civil War (2016).
InNew York City,Steve Rogers is rejected forU.S. Army recruitment due to his small stature and poor health. While attending the Stark Expo, an event held by famous engineerHoward Stark, Rogers attempts to enlist again. Overhearing Rogers tell his best friend,James "Bucky" Barnes, that he wants to fight for his country, Dr.Abraham Erskine allows Rogers to enlist. He is recruited into theStrategic Scientific Reserve as part of a"super-soldier" experiment under Erskine, Stark, ColonelChester Phillips, and BritishMI6 agentPeggy Carter. Phillips is not convinced by Erskine's claims that Rogers is the right person for the procedure until Rogers selflesslyjumps on a grenade as part of a test. Erskine reveals to Rogers that he was a scientist under Schmidt, until the latter took a prototype version of the super-soldier formula that gave him superhuman strength but painfully changed his appearance.
Schmidt and Dr.Arnim Zola harness the energies of the Tesseract to fuel Zola's inventions and Hydra's planned worldwide offensive. Schmidt discovers Erskine's location and sends an assassin,Heinz Kruger, to kill him. Erskine and Stark put Rogers through the super-soldier treatment, injecting him with the formula and dosing him with "vita-rays". After Rogers emerges from the experiment taller and more muscular, Kruger kills Erskine and flees with the last vial of the formula. Rogers pursues and captures Kruger, but the assassin avoids interrogation by killing himself with acyanide capsule. The vial is destroyed during the chase. With Erskine dead and his formula lost, U.S. Senator Brandt has Rogers tour the nation as "Captain America" to promotewar bonds while scientists study his blood and attempt toreverse-engineer the formula. In 1943, while on tour inItaly performing for active servicemen, Rogers learns that Barnes's unit isMIA following a battle against Schmidt's forces. Rogers has Carter and Stark fly him behind enemy lines to mount a rescue. Rogers infiltrates Schmidt's fortress, frees Barnes and the other prisoners, and confronts Schmidt. The latter escapes, but first he removes a mask to reveal his red, skull-like visage that has earned him thesobriquet "Red Skull".
Rogers recruits Barnes and other freed prisoners to form theHowling Commandos. Stark outfits Rogers with a circular shield made of a rare, nearly indestructible metal calledvibranium. Rogers and his team sabotage various Hydra operations while he and Carter begin to fall in love. In 1945, the team assaults a train carrying Zola. They capture him, but Barnes falls from the train to his apparent death.[c] Using information extracted from Zola, the final Hydra stronghold is located, and Rogers leads an attack to stop Schmidt from usingweapons of mass destruction on major American cities. Rogers climbs aboard Schmidt's super-bomber as it takes off. During the subsequent fight, the Tesseract is freed from its container, and Schmidt picks it up, opening a portal into space through which he is pulled. The Tesseract burns through the plane and falls into the ocean. Seeing no way to land the plane without risking its weapons detonating, Rogers radios Carter to say goodbye before crashing in the Arctic. After the war ends, Stark recovers the Tesseract from the ocean floor but is unable to locate the aircraft, and Rogers is presumed dead.
Rogers awakens in a 1940s-style hospital room. Hearing a radio broadcast of a baseball game that he attended in 1941, Rogers grows suspicious and escapes from the room. He finds himself in contemporaryTimes Square, whereS.H.I.E.L.D. directorNick Fury informs him that he has been asleep for almost 70 years. In apost-credits scene, Fury approaches Rogers and proposes a mission with worldwide ramifications.[d]
Chris Evans asSteve Rogers / Captain America: A frail young man who is enhanced to the peak of human ability by an experimental serum in order to aid the United Stateswar effort.[11] Evans, who previously worked with Marvel as theHuman Torch in theFantastic Four film series (2005-2007), said he declined the part three times before signing a six-picture deal with Marvel, explaining that, "At the time, I remember telling a buddy of mine, 'If the movie bombs, I'm f—-ed [sic]. If the movie hits, I'm f—-ed!' I was just scared. I realized my whole decision-making process was fear-based, and you never want to make a decision out of fear. I can't believe I was almost too chicken to play Captain America."[12] Evans ultimately agreed to the role, saying, "I think Marvel is doing a lot of good things right now, and it's a fun character. ... I think the story of Steve Rogers is great. He's a great guy. Even if it [were] just a script about anybody, I would probably want to do it. So it wasn't necessarily about the comic itself."[13] Regarding the extent of the character's abilities Evans remarked, "He would crush theOlympics. Any Olympic sport he's gonna dominate. He can jump higher, run faster, lift stronger weight, but he can be injured. He could roll an ankle and be out for the season. He's not perfect, he's not untouchable. So a lot of the effects, if I'm going to punch someone they're not going to put them on a cable and fly them back 50 feet, but he's going to go down, probably not getting back up, which I think humanizes it. It makes it something that, again, I think everyone can relate to a little bit more, which I really like."[14] Evans did daily high-weight training and stuck to a high-calorie diet to get in shape for the part.[15] Theater actor Leander Deeny was Evans'body double in some shots for Steve Rogers' pre-transformation physique, and also appears as a bartender.[16][17]
Tommy Lee Jones asChester Phillips: A colonel in the United States Army and member of the Strategic Scientific Reserve who heads the project to create super soldiers. The character was updated from the comics, where Phillips was the one to recruit Rogers to join Project Rebirth that made him Captain America.[18] Jones described the character as "the one you've seen in a thousand movies: the gruff, skeptical officer overseeing a team of talented, slightly sarcastic, specially talented soldiers".[19]
Hugo Weaving asJohann Schmidt / Red Skull: Adolf Hitler's head of advanced weaponry and commander of the terrorist organizationHydra whose own plan for world domination involves harnessing the power of the magical object known as the Tesseract.[11][12][20][21] Weaving stated that he patterned Red Skull's accent on those ofWerner Herzog andKlaus Maria Brandauer.[22] About the character, Weaving remarked, "I think the major difference between Skull and Cap, they've both had the serum, and the serum seems to augment certain qualities that each of them have. Cap is much more in tune with other people I think. Schmidt is in tune with himself, and his own needs, and his own ego, so I suppose it augments that. From that point of view, they're quite opposite."[23]
Hayley Atwell asMargaret "Peggy" Carter: An officer with the Strategic Scientific Reserve who works with Phillips on the super soldier project. Regarding her preparation for the role, she said, "I'm training at the moment six days a week to make her a bit more military and make it convincing that I could kick butt."[24] About the character, Atwell stated, "I likened her character to that famousGinger Rogers quote. She can do everything Captain America can do, but backwards and in high heels. She's an English soldier through and through, although she always looks fabulous. She might stand there with a machine-gun shooting Nazis, but she's obviously gone to the loo beforehand and applied a bit of lipstick. She doesn't need to be rescued. That's exciting to me – her strength."[25] She added, "I think she's quite stubborn, a slightly frustrated woman who struggles with being a woman in that time. But more importantly she's a modern woman and she sees something in Captain America that she relates to, and becomes kindred spirits. He treats her very differently to how she's been treated by lots of men, in this kind of dominated world she lives in. So she's very much a fighter."[26]
Sebastian Stan asJames Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes: A sergeant in the United States Army, Rogers' best friend, and member of hissquad of commandos. Stan signed on for "five or six pictures".[27] He revealed that he did not know anything about the comic books, but watched a lot of documentaries and films about World War II in preparation for the role, callingBand of Brothers "very helpful". About the role, Stan stated, "Steve Rogers and Bucky are both orphans and kind of like brothers. They kind of grow up together and look after each other. It's a very human, relatable thing... I also wanted to look out for how their relationship changes once Steve Rogers becomes Captain America. There's always a competition and they're always one-upping each other. I paid attention to how Bucky is affected by Steve's change and suddenly Steve is this leader".[28]
Dominic Cooper asHoward Stark: The father ofTony Stark who worked on various government projects dating back to the World War II era.[29][30] About the role, Cooper stated, "It's an opportunity where you can see his future because I know the guy who becomes my son and I see myself as an older version inIron Man 2 which is great for an actor to have those tools. All I know of him is that he's a fantastic engineer and inventor and a very slickHoward Hughes type that's into aviation and women!"[31]
Neal McDonough asTimothy "Dum Dum" Dugan: A member of Rogers' squad of commandos. McDonough wore the character's signaturebowler hat and said he grew Dugan's trademark mustache. About his role in the film he remarked, "Oh, I'm going to see a lot of action. [I'm] the go-to guy, so I'm very happy with that."[33] McDonough was signed on to appear in multiple projects for Marvel, not limited to films.[34]
Derek Luke asGabe Jones: A member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Luke said he was cast without a script or much of a description of the character. As to why he took the part, "I just believed that Marvel was doing some really great work, great messages in films. The good versus evil and I was just like, 'How can I be down?'"[35]
Stanley Tucci asAbraham Erskine: The scientist who created the Super Soldier Serum.[36] Tucci said that what drew him to the role was the opportunity to do a German accent, which was something he always wanted to try.[37]
Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role asNick Fury, the director of the super-spy agency,S.H.I.E.L.D.[38]Kenneth Choi appears asJim Morita, aJapanese-American member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Choi said he was the last actor to audition for the part and that he read sides fromSaving Private Ryan. About his preparation for the role, Choi said, "[I] did a lot of WWII research especially in regards to the 'Nisei' soldiers, or Japanese-American soldiers. I wanted to get as much true, real-life information for a guy like Jim Morita fighting in WWII. I felt that if I had built a factual basis for him, I could then let go and permit the character to exist in the Marvel Universe, which allows for a lot of imaginative circumstances."[39] Bruno Ricci stars asJacques Dernier, a French member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Ricci auditioned for and got the part while filming the French seriesThe Hawk.[40]JJ Feild appears asJames Montgomery Falsworth, a British member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Feild called his part in the film "a very physical job. I play one of the Captain's sidekicks so I've been running around shooting things and blowing things up and trying to look cool for about a year."[41] Additionally,Richard Armitage portraysHeinz Kruger, the Red Skull's top assassin,[42]Lex Shrapnel portraysGilmore Hodge, a candidate for the super soldier program,[43]Michael Brandon portrays Brandt, a United States Senator who recognizes thePR potential of Captain America.[44]Jeff Goldblum had originally been approached to play the part; he later playedGrandmaster inThor: Ragnarok (2017).[45]David Bradley appears as the church keeper where the Tesseract is held.[46]Natalie Dormer portrays Lorraine, aprivate who attempts to seduce Rogers,[47] andJenna Coleman appears as Connie, Bucky's date at the World Expo.[48]Laura Haddock, who would go on to portrayMeredith Quill inGuardians of the Galaxy (2014), has a brief appearance as an autograph seeker.Guardians of the Galaxy writer/directorJames Gunn jokingly claimed that this wasPeter Quill's grandmother.[49]Stan Lee has acameo appearance as ageneral.[50]
"[Captain America] wants to serve his country, but he's not this sort ofjingoistic American flag-waver. He's just a good person. We make a point of that in the script: Don't change who you are once you go from Steve Rogers to this super-soldier; you have to stay who you are inside, that's really what's important more than your strength and everything... It's also the idea that this is not about America so much as it is about the spirit of doing the right thing. It's an international cast and an international story. It's about what makes America great and what make the rest of the world great too."
—Joe Johnston, director ofCaptain America: The First Avenger, about the film.[51]
In April 1997,Marvel Studios was in negotiations withMark Gordon andGary Levinsohn to produceCaptain America, and Larry Wilson andLeslie Bohem were set to write a script.[52] In May 2000, Marvel teamed withArtisan Entertainment to help finance the film.[53] However, a lawsuit arose betweenMarvel Comics andJoe Simon over the ownership ofCaptain America copyrights, disrupting the development process of the film. The lawsuit was eventually settled in September 2003.[54] Following the settlement, Marvel was preparing to license the film rights toWarner Bros. until producerDavid Maisel suggested that the company produce the film themselves.[55] In 2005, Marvel received a $525 million investment fromMerrill Lynch, allowing them to independently produce ten films, includingCaptain America.Paramount Pictures agreed to distribute the film.[53][56][57]Originally, the film would stand alone; producerKevin Feige said "about half" the movie would be set duringWorld War II before moving into the modern day.[58] ProducerAvi Arad said, "The biggest opportunity withCaptain America is as a man 'out of time', coming back today, looking at our world through the eyes of someone who thought the perfect world was small-townUnited States. Sixty years go by, and who are we today? Are we better?" He cited theBack to the Future trilogy as an influence, and claimed he had "someone in mind to be the star, and definitely someone in mind to be the director".[59] In February 2006, Arad hoped to have a summer 2008 theatrical release date.[60]Jon Favreau approached Arad to direct the film as a comedy, but he chose to makeIron Man (2008) instead.[61] In April 2006,David Self was hired to write the script.[62] He explained that Captain America was his favorite superhero as a child because "my dad told me I could one day be Captain America".[63]Joe Johnston met with Marvel to discuss directing the film.[64]
Captain America was put on hold during the2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. However, in January 2008,Marvel Entertainment reached an interim comprehensive agreement with theWriters Guild of America that would put writers immediately back to work on various projects that were under the company's development.[65] On May 5, 2008 (after the success ofIron Man), Marvel announced the filmThe First Avenger: Captain America (the working title) for release on May 6, 2011 (before being pushed back to July 22).[66]Louis Leterrier, director ofThe Incredible Hulk (2008), viewed some of theconcept art being created for the film and was impressed enough to offer his services, but Marvel turned him down.[67] Johnston finally signed on in November 2008,[64] and he hiredChristopher Markus & Stephen McFeely to rewrite.[68] Feige cited Johnston's directorial work onOctober Sky (1999) andThe Rocketeer (1991) and his special effects work on theoriginalStar Wars trilogy (1977-1983) to explain why he was an appropriate choice.Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), in which Johnston worked for the special effects, was an influence on the film, because they hoped the film would not feel like a period piece.[69]
When asked whether anti-US sentiments would affect the film's box office, Feige said, "Marvel is perceived pretty well around the world right now, and I think putting another uber-Marvel hero into the worldwide box office would be a good thing. ... We have to deal with much the same way that Captain America, when thawed from the Arctic ice, entered a world that he didn't recognize," similar to the way Stan Lee andJack Kirby reintroduced the character in the 1960s.[58] Likewise, Arad noted, "Captain America stands for freedom for all democracies, for hope all around the world. He was created to stop tyranny and the idea of stopping tyranny is important today as it was then. So I think that we will have some interesting challenges but at the end of the day if the movie is terrific and the movie talks to the world, it's not about one place, it's about the world and I think [on] that basis it will be very successful".[70] Later, after the election of US PresidentBarack Obama, Feige commented, "The idea of change and hope has permeated the country, regardless of politics, and that includesHollywood. Discussions in all our development meetings include thezeitgeist and how it's changed in the last two weeks. Things are being adjusted".[71] The creative team opted to not push the title character to fight any members of theNazi Party like in a usual World War II movie, as their goal was to depict the conflict through theMarvel Universe's "prism". Although they didn't have problems to feature Nazis in the film, with Feige loving an iconic Captain America cover where the character punchesAdolf Hitler out, the team felt that usingHydra as the main antagonists would make them be "true" to the comic book's many aspects. It was because of this that Markus and McFeely found sense in using theCosmic Cube, already set up inThor (2011), as the film'sMacGuffin, while using a youngerHoward Stark as a key ally for the protagonist would bring, according to Markus, "thatTony Starkness".[72]
In December 2009, director Joe Johnston indicated that he planned to start filming in April 2010.[73] In a separate interview that month, he described the film'spre-production: "Rick Heinrichs isproduction-designing and we're set up down inManhattan Beach, California. ... We have eight or ten really talented artists, and we all just sit around all day and draw pictures and say, 'Hey, wouldn't it be cool if we could do this?' It's that phase of the production where money doesn't matter: 'Let's put all the greatest stuff up on the wall and [then later] see what we can afford.'" The film, he said, will begin "in 1942, 1943" during World War II. "The stuff in the '60s and '70s [comic books] we're sort of avoiding. We're going back to the '40s, and then forward to what they're doing with Captain America now".[74] In February 2010, Johnston stated that theInvaders will appear in "the entire second half" of the film,[75] leading fans to speculate this was the World War II-era Marvel superhero team of that name,[76] and in November, Johnston refuted speculation that theSub-Mariner, an Invaders team-member in the comics, would be included.[77] Johnston later explained that "the Invaders" had been discussed simply as a possible name for the squad of commandos Captain America leads in the film. Christopher Markus, one of the screenwriters, said the unnamed group was "called theHowling Commandos in the script, but no one says that out loud".[76]
The design as a whole tried to create technology that could be built in the 1940s, though with the added Cube technology in Hydra's case. Abandoned Nazi projects or actual vehicles from the period were used as inspiration.Daniel Simon, who was previously responsible for many vehicle designs inTron: Legacy (2010),[78] was appointed Lead Vehicle Designer.[79] Director Johnston cited Simon's bookCosmic Motors as a reason to trust his influence, saying "he's sort of the guy I wanted to be when I was designing stuff forStar Wars".[80] TheRed Skull's car, for instance, was based on twoMercedes-Benz vehicles from the 1930s, the540K and theG4.[79]
Some filming also took place at Pinewood Studios,[104] with Pinewood's A Stage, their South Dock, and their Underwater Stage all being used by the crew. Six months of filming also occurred at Shepperton Studios, with nine stages being used.[105]
In July 2010,Marvel Studios headKevin Feige said that both this film andThor would be released in3-D.[106] Johnston did a one-day test shooting with a 3-D rig, rather than shooting in2-D and converting, and found it "a nightmare" due to bulky gear, calibration issues and restricted filmmaking options. Nevertheless, he said he believes 3-D is "a new challenge and it's exciting". Feige insisted that the conversion would not compromise the film's image quality, as the decision to release the film in 3-D was made early in development, and that "an unprecedented amount of time" would be devoted to the conversion process, to render all the film'svisual effects in true 3-D.[106] In November 2010, Stanley Tucci stated that he had completed filming his scenes and that the rest of the production would wrap in about three weeks.[107]
Evans as pre-serumSteve Rogers before (top) and after (bottom) he was visually reduced
In February 2011, it was announced thatAlan Silvestri had been chosen to compose thefilm score.[108] In March 2011, it was reported thatCaptain America: The First Avenger would be undergoing reshoots in the United Kingdom and in Los Angeles in April 2011.[109][110] WriterEric Pearson, who was part of Marvel Studios' writers program, did uncredited work creating lines of dialogue for Evans to say duringautomated dialogue replacement (ADR) to help make the film cohesive.[111] A scene was also filmed in New York City's Times Square on April 23, 2011.[112]
The film features nearly 1,600 visual effects shots, which were split between thirteen different companies.[113] To achieve the appearance of the skinny, pre-serum Steve Rogers, director Joe Johnston stated that he used two major techniques:
Most of the shots were done by an L.A. company called LOLA that specializes in digital "plastic surgery". The technique involved shrinking Chris in all dimensions. We shot each skinny Steve scene at least four times; once like a normal scene with Chris and his fellow actors in the scene, once with Chris alone in front of a green screen so his element could be reduced digitally, again with everyone in the scene but with Chris absent so that the shrunken Steve could be re-inserted into the scene, and finally with a body double mimicking Chris's actions in case the second technique were required. When Chris had to interact with other characters in the scene, we had to either lower Chris or raise the other actors on apple boxes or elevated walkways to make skinny Steve shorter in comparison. For close-ups, Chris' fellow actors had to look at marks on his chin that represented where his eyes would be after the shrinking process, and Chris had to look at marks on the tops of the actor's head to represent their eyes. ... The second technique involved grafting Chris's head onto the body double. This technique was used mostly when Chris was sitting or lying down, or when a minimum of physical acting was required....[114]
Captain America's shield, which serves as both a defensive tool and a weapon, came in four types: metal,fiberglass, rubber, andcomputer graphics (CG).[113] Prop master Barry Gibbs specified that "We had the 'hero shield,' which was made of aluminum, for our beauty shots [and] close-up work. We then created a lighter shield that was aluminum-faced with a fiberglass back, for use on a daily basis. ... And then we had a stunt shield made ofpolyurethane, which is sort of a synthetic rubber ... and we made an ultrasoft one we put on [Evans'] back, so that if there were an accident, it wouldn't hurt him".[76] Visual effects supervisor Christopher Townsend said Evans "would practice swinging the practical shield so he knew the arc and the speed at which he should move. We would take the shield from him and shoot the scene with him miming it. Then we would add in a CG shield".[113]
Hugo Weaving, who portrayed the Red Skull, wore a latex mask conceived by prosthetic makeup designer David White. The visual effects team had to manipulate his face considerably, as the mask was bulky and they wanted to make it look like tight skin wrapped around a very bony structure. They thinned out Weaving's cheeks and lower lip, hollowed out his eyes, and removed his eyelashes and nose to make him appear more like the Red Skull character.[113]
The soundtrack album forCaptain America: The First Avenger includes the original score by Alan Silvestri, as well as an original song, "Star Spangled Man", with music composed byAlan Menken and lyrics byDavid Zippel. The soundtrack was recorded atAir Studios in London and released byWalt Disney Records on July 19, 2011.[116]
Evans promoting the film at Comic-Con in July 2011 during the Military Salute
At the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con, some footage that had been shot in the previous week was shown at theSan Diego Convention Center.[22] The first television advertisement aired duringSuper Bowl XLV on theFox network in the United States. Paramount paid $3 million to run the 30-second advertisement.[117] The first full trailer was released in March 2011.[118] In May 2011, theUSO girls from the film performed aboard theUSS Intrepid at theIntrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum as a part of the 2011Fleet Week celebration in New York City.[119] In June 2011,Dunkin' Donuts andBaskin-Robbins teamed with Marvel to search for real-life super-soldiers. The contest sought nominations for veterans or active U.S. servicepersons making a difference where they live or serve.[120] In July 2011, Paramount Pictures promoted the film during anIndependence Day celebration hosted by theChicago White Sox.[121] Promotional partners includeHarley-Davidson, Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins.[122]
In February 2011, Marvel Comics launched the eight-issuedigital comicCaptain America: First Vengeance, on the same day as the first trailer aired. Written byFred Van Lente and featuring a rotation of artists, the story is set in theMarvel Cinematic Universe. Each of the eight issues focuses on a specific character from the movie, heroes and villains alike, and what brought them to the point where the movie begins.[123]
The world premiere ofCaptain America: The First Avenger was held on July 19, 2011, at theEl Capitan Theatre inHollywood,California.[127] The film was screened atSan Diego Comic-Con on July 21, 2011.[128] It was commercially released in the United States and Canada on July 22, 2011.[129][130]Captain America: The First Avenger is part ofPhase One of the MCU.[131]
Paramount opted against altering the American-centric title when distributing to foreign territories, instead offering international markets a choice between the official title and the alternativeThe First Avenger. Many international distributors chose to retain the original title, believing the franchise name to be more identifiable than the alternative, and that the latter would risk losing ticket sales. Three countries chose the alternative title:Russia,South Korea, andUkraine. An "insider" speaking toThe New York Times explained that the name change in these countries stemmed from cultural and political concerns, though Marvel and Paramount both declined to state an official reason.[132] In July 2011, it was thought that the film would not be released in China because of a policy limiting the number of foreign films screened there each year,[132] but it eventually opened there in the second weekend of September.[133]
Days before the film's release, a teaser trailer forThe Avengers that served as a post-credits scene ofCaptain America: The First Avenger was briefly leaked online.Entertainment Weekly speculated it came from a preview screening and described the footage as "shaky, fuzzy, flickering and obviously filmed on a cell phone".[134]Captain America: The First Avenger was formatted and screened inIMAX for the first time on August 31, 2018, as part of Marvel Studios' 10-year anniversary IMAX festival.[135]
Captain America: The First Avenger was released byParamount Home Entertainment onBlu-ray,Blu-ray 3D andDVD on October 25, 2011. The three-disc set includes the film on Blu-ray in high-definition 3D and in high definition 2D, as well as on standard definition DVD with a digital copy. The two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack includes a high-definition presentation of the film and a standard-definition presentation with a digital copy. Both sets include over an hour of bonus material, including the short filmA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer, a sneak peek ofThe Avengers, six behind-the-scenes featurettes, and deleted scenes with commentary by director Joe Johnston, director of photography Shelly Johnson and editor Jeff Ford.[136] In its first week of release,Captain America: The First Avenger topped the Blu-ray and DVD sales charts, selling 1.54 million Blu-ray units and 726,000 DVD units and making a combined total of $52.6 million.[137][138]
Captain America: The First Avenger earned $176.7 million in North America and $193.9 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $370.6 million.[4]
Captain America: The First Avenger opened on July 22, 2011, in the United States and earned $4 million in midnight showings, outgrossing other 2011 original superhero films likeThor andGreen Lantern as well as the prequelX-Men: First Class, which all made between $3.25 million and $3.5 million in Friday midnights.[143] On Friday, the film opened at the number one spot at the American and Canadian box office with $25.7 million.[144] It then went on to make $65.1 million in what was the second highest-grossing opening weekend for a superhero film in 2011, behindThor ($65.7 million).[145] At the time of its release,Captain America: The First Avenger became the third highest-grossing motion picture set during the World War II era, afterSaving Private Ryan andPearl Harbor.[146]
Thereview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 80%, with an average score of 7/10, based on 276 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "With plenty of pulpy action, a pleasantly retro vibe, and a handful of fine performances,Captain America is solidly old-fashioned blockbuster entertainment."[147]Metacritic, which assigns aweighted average score, rated the film 66 out of 100 based on 43 reviews from critics indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[148] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[149]
Roger Moore of theOrlando Sentinel gaveCaptain America: The First Avenger a positive review, saying, "Johnston has delivered a light, clever and deftly balanced adventure picture with real lump in the throat nostalgia, with Nazis – who make the best villains, and with loving references toStar Wars andRaiders of the Lost Ark.'"[150]Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times remarked, "I enjoyed the movie. I appreciated the 1940s period settings and costumes, which were a break with the usual generic cityscapes. I admired the way that director Joe Johnston propelled the narrative. I got a sense of a broad story, rather than the impression of a series of sensational set pieces. If Marvel is wise, it will take this andIron Man as its templates".[151]A. O. Scott ofThe New York Times declared it "pretty good fun".[152]
Karina Longworth ofThe Village Voice gave the film a negative review, calling it "[A] hokey, hacky, two-hour-plus exercise in franchise transition/price gouging, complete with utterly unnecessary post-converted 3-D".[153] Peter Debruge ofVariety said, "Captain America: The First Avenger plays like a by-the-numbers prequel for Marvel Studios' forthcomingThe Avengers movie".[154] Kirk Honeycutt ofThe Hollywood Reporter had mixed feelings about the film, writing, "As the last Marvel prequel that includes two Iron Man and Incredible Hulk movies before next summer'sThe Avengers, this one feels perhaps a little too simplistic and routine".[155]
In September 2013, Marvel released theOne-Shot short film,Agent Carter, onIron Man 3's home media release, featuring Atwell reprising her role as Peggy Carter. Set a year afterThe First Avenger, the film sees Carter on an SSR mission post-World War II.[172]
^Joe Johnston,Shelly Johnson, andJeffrey Ford explained on the film's audio commentary that the experiments performed on Barnes by Zola allowed him to survive the fall shown in the film.[10]
^Yamato, Jen (April 30, 2012)."Marvel's Kevin Feige on Avengers, Iron Man 3, Thor 2, Universe-Building, and Elektra".MovieLine.Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. RetrievedMay 3, 2012.But as we were working on them we started to keep track of some things that the writers and filmmakers of one movie were doing anyway and we started to track them and realized that we could utilize those later down the line. That's how the Cosmic Cube came about; what started as a little seed would grow and grow and grow toThe Avengers.
^"Bruno Ricci à l'affiche deCaptain América, dans les salles le 17 août" (in French). InfosCulture.com. Archived fromthe original on March 31, 2012. RetrievedJuly 2, 2011.En plein tournage de la série française «L'Epervier», Bruno participe au casting de Captain America ... et est sélectionné! ...en interprétant Jacques Dernier ... qui combat aux côtés de Captain America et de ses quatre autres coéquipiers...."Translation: "While filming the French seriesThe Hawk, Bruno participated in the casting of Captain America ... and was selected! ... [He portrays] Jacques Dernier ... fighting alongside Captain America and his four other teammates....
^Jameson, Greg (August 12, 2014)."Michael Brandon interview". Entertainment Focus.Archived from the original on April 4, 2015. RetrievedApril 21, 2016.
