document_title: The BFG (2016 film)

question_text: who is the actor who plays the bfg

question_tokens: who is the actor who plays the bfg

text: The BFG (2016 film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: Sophie, a 10-year-old orphaned girl who lives in a London orphanage, stays awake reading through the nights due to her insomnia. At 3:00 am, or what she calls the "witching hour", she sees an elderly giant outside her window. The giant captures her and takes her into Giant Country. There, he explains that Sophie must stay with him for the rest of her life because she saw him and must not be allowed to reveal the existence of giants. He also explains that she will put herself at risk if she goes out in the open, as nine other giants inhabit Giant Country, all of whom are maneaters and favor the taste of children.

text: When Sophie awakes, the Fleshlumpeater, the infantile leader of the man-eating giants (and the same one from Sophie's nightmare), enters the older giant's home and smells Sophie. The Fleshlumpeater nearly devours Sophie before exiting. The giant gives Sophie some replacement clothes, as hers are ruined, and Sophie convinces him to take her to Dream Country to catch dreams together. As they leave, they accidentally wake up the Bloodbottler, the more intelligent and cunning second-in-command to the Fleshlumpeater, who awakens the other man-eating giants. They torment and bully the friendly giant by throwing him around like a football and rolling him down a hill in a garbage truck. As the pair escape during a thunderstorm which drives the man-eating giants into the cave, the Fleshlumpeater and the Bloodbottler find Sophie's blanket (which she had dropped before) and plan to find her. Climbing up the mountain, Sophie tells the giant that he shouldn't allow the other giants to bully him.

text: The pair arrives in Dream Country and catch a dream each. While there, the giant reveals that his only other alias (other than "runt" which the other giants call him) is "the Big Friendly Giant" and Sophie decides to call him "BFG". The two then head to London to spread good dreams to sleeping children. As they do so, Sophie realizes that she has lost her blanket. The BFG realizes that the other man-eating giants know about her, and she wakes up outside the orphanage. He explains that the last human child he took and raised was discovered and eaten by Fleshlumpeater's group. She throws herself out of her window in the hope he will appear again to catch her, and he does.

text: When they return to the BFG's home, the other giants barge in and upend the place looking for Sophie, destroying much of the BFG's hard work. Sophie evades detection and the enraged BFG finally stands up to them and drives them off with a hot fire iron. While hidden, Sophie finds the home of the last human to live with the BFG before becoming a victim of Fleshlumpeater's group. She leaves his jacket on his bed and finds a portrait of Queen Victoria amongst his belongings. From this she devises a plan to forge a nightmare and give it to Elizabeth II, the Queen of the United Kingdom. The nightmare consists of giants eating the children of England, the British Army fighting the giants, and Sophie appearing on her windowsill.

text: They head to Buckingham Palace where upon waking from her nightmare, the Queen and her maid Mary find Sophie on the windowsill as in the nightmare with the BFG outside in the palace grounds. Sophie and the BFG inform the Queen, Mary, and Mr. Tibbs that the child-eating beasts in her dream are indeed real and must be stopped at all costs before they cause any more harm to her subjects. After a large breakfast they all enjoy, the Queen soon dispatches soldiers to Giant Country.

text: The BFG plans to give the man-eating giants the nightmare Sophie caught the night before, so they will be more compliant once caught. They are almost all immediately consumed by guilt, but the Fleshlumpeater awakens and intercepts the nightmare before it can affect him. Despite this, the British army's helicopters effortlessly ensnare and capture him and the other giants. They are lifted away onto an isolated uncharted island somewhere in the world where numerous snozzcumbers and a large crate of snozzcumber seeds are left with them, much to their fury.

text: In the aftermath, Sophie begins living in the Queen's palace with Mary while the BFG returns to Giant Country to resume giving dreams to people and begins growing a wide variety of vegetables inspired by his time in England. The film ends with Sophie narrating that whenever she feels lonely, which is less often than before, she talks to him. He can still hear her. Leaning out of her window, she says "Good Morning, BFG". At his writing desk, the BFG hears her words and smiles.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Mark Rylance as the BFG, an elderly, benevolent 24 foot (7.3 m) giant whose name is short for the "Big Friendly Giant". He is called "Runt" by the other giants.[14]
Ruby Barnhill as Sophie, an orphan who befriends the BFG.[15]
Penelope Wilton as Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen of the United Kingdom.[16]
Jemaine Clement as the Fleshlumpeater, a 54-foot (16.5 m) giant who is the de facto leader of the man-eating giants.[16]
Rebecca Hall as Mary, the Queen's maid.[16]
Rafe Spall as Mr. Tibbs, the Queen's butler.[17]
Bill Hader as the Bloodbottler, a disheveled 43 foot (13.1 m) man-eating giant with cowlick hair who is the Fleshlumpeater's advisor and the most intelligent of the group.[18]
Michael Adamthwaite as the Butcher Boy, an overweight, immature man-eating giant who is the youngest of the group. He collects cars and wears clothes made of circus tents.[16]
Daniel Bacon as the Bonecruncher, a dark-skinned, bald-headed man-eating giant.[16]
Chris Gibbs as the Gizzardgulper, a burly, bearded 39 foot (11.9 m) man-eating giant who wears a helmet and is the shortest of the group.[16]
Adam Godley as the Manhugger, a very tall and slim man-eating giant who wears a vest and shorts.[16]
Paul Moniz de Sa as the Meatdripper, a well-groomed man-eating giant with Mohawk hair.[16]
Jonathan Holmes as the Childchewer, a balding man-eating giant who is Meatdripper's best friend.[16]
Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as the Maidmasher, a small-headed man-eating giant.[16]
Marilyn Norry as Mrs. Clonkers, the head of the orphanage where Sophie was living.
Chris Shields, Matt Frewer, and Geoffrey Wade as the Queen's Generals

text: Adamthwaite, Bacon, Gibbs, Godley, Holmes, Moniz de Sa, and Ólafsson also make cameos as minor London characters. William Samples and Ruby Barnhill's father Paul Barnhill make cameos as the palace staff members.

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text: Producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy began development on a live-action adaptation of The BFG in 1991, and set the project up at Paramount Pictures.[19] Husband and wife screenwriters Robin Swicord and Nicholas Kazan wrote a screenplay adaptation in 1998, with Robin Williams in negotiations for the title role.[20][21][22] Williams attended a read-through, which according to Michael Siegel was "surprisingly disappointing".[23] Williams' trademark improvisational style clashed with the BFG's unique language.[23] Siegel elaborates, "He was sort of improvising on the jumbled language. And it was clunky. It was strangely not working. It was harder than it looks even for Robin. It didn't quite deliver."[23] By 2001, the script had been rewritten by Gwyn Lurie, and was greeted with positive feedback from the Dahl estate.[24] Terry Jones and Ed Solomon also attempted screenplay drafts.[23] While the screenplay lingered in development hell, Paramount subsequently lost the film rights and they reverted to the Dahl estate.[23]

text: In September 2011, DreamWorks acquired the film rights to the book; Kennedy and Marshall were announced to produce, with screenwriter Melissa Mathison adapting the story.[25] Initially, John Madden was hired to direct, however, in April 2014, Steven Spielberg was announced as the director, with Madden now listed as executive producer with producer Michael Siegel.[26] Kennedy had initially thought of Spielberg as director, but hesitated asking him until a more concrete screenplay was presentable.[27] Spielberg stated, "The BFG has enchanted families and their children for more than three decades. We are honoured that the Roald Dahl estate has entrusted us with this classic story."[28] Walden Media agreed to co-produce and co-finance the film with DreamWorks and Amblin in March 2015.[29] A month later, Walt Disney Studios—which was under prior agreement to distribute the film through its Touchstone Pictures banner—also joined the production as a co-producer and co-financier, and shifted the film from a Touchstone release to a Walt Disney Pictures production instead.[30] Consequently, The BFG is the first Disney-branded film directed by Spielberg, though he has previously produced several films for the studio.[31][32] Additionally, DreamWorks did not receive a marquee credit—placement of the studio's production logo on marketing materials, nor in the film's opening titles, and instead is represented by Amblin, although DreamWorks still serves as a copyright holder for the film.[33][34] The film is the second adaptation of the novel following the 1989 direct-to-television animated film.

text: Casting[edit]

text: Mark Rylance was cast in the film's title role in October 2014.[14] Spielberg had approached Rylance with the role during filming of Bridge of Spies.[35][36] Spielberg was quoted as saying that "Mark Rylance is a transformational actor. I am excited and thrilled that Mark will be making this journey with us to Giant Country. Everything about his career so far is about making the courageous choice and I'm honoured he has chosen The BFG as his next big screen performance."[37][38] Rylance performed the character through motion capture, a process which he referred to as "liberating".[39] In mid-November 2014, it was revealed that a ten-year-old student of Lower Peover School, Ruby Barnhill, had auditioned for the film. She had to learn six pages of dialogue in preparation for a possible role as the orphan Sophie.[40] After a lengthy search, on December 16, Barnhill was cast in the role, about which she said, "I feel incredibly lucky and I'm so happy." Spielberg stated that they "have discovered a wonderful Sophie in Ruby Barnhill."[15] Bill Hader was set to star in the film in an unspecified role on March 27, 2015.[18] On April 13, 2015, the rest of the cast was announced, which included Penelope Wilton, Rebecca Hall, Jemaine Clement, Michael David Adamthwaite, Daniel Bacon, Chris Gibbs, Adam Godley, Jonathan Holmes, Paul Moniz de Sa, and Ólafur Ólafsson.[16]

text: Filming[edit]

text: Principal photography on the film began on March 23, 2015, in Vancouver[16][41] and concluded on June 12, 2015.[42] Weta Digital worked on the film's visual effects.[43] It is Mathison's final film following her death on November 4, 2015.

text: Music[edit]

text: John Williams composed and conducted the film's musical score, marking the twenty-seventh collaboration between Spielberg and Williams.[44] Williams was announced as the film's composer in March 2015.[45] During the process of writing the score, Williams compared the film to "a child’s ballet where there are dances involved," elaborating, "The BFG tries to capture dreams with his net and does something that almost looks like a Ray Bolger or Fred Astaire dance; It is an amazingly musical and choreographic sequence which required the orchestra to do things that are more associated with musical films."[46] Williams found similarities with the scoring of Home Alone, admitting that writing music for The BFG “was really an opportunity to compose and orchestrate a little children’s fantasy for orchestra."[47] The soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on July 1, 2016.[48]

text:
The BFG (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Film score by John Williams

Released
July 1, 2016

Recorded
2016

Studio
Sony Pictures Studios

Genre
Film score

Length
64:33

Label
Walt Disney

Producer
John Williams

John Williams film scores chronology

Star Wars: The Force Awakens
(2015)Star Wars: The Force Awakens2015
The BFG
(2016)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
(2017)Star Wars: The Last Jedi2017

text: Track listing[edit]

text: All music composed by John Williams.

text:
No.
Title
Length

1.
"Overture"
1:18

2.
"The Witching Hour"
4:41

3.
"To Giant Country"
2:33

4.
"Dream Country"
10:10

5.
"Sophie's Nightmare"
1:57

6.
"Building Trust"
3:25

7.
"Fleshlumpeater"
1:37

8.
"Dream Jars"
3:30

9.
"Frolic"
1:44

10.
"Blowing Dreams"
3:46

11.
"Snorting and Sniffing"
2:13

12.
"Sophie's Future"
2:30

13.
"There Was a Boy"
3:30

14.
"The Queen's Dream"
3:08

15.
"The Boy's Drawings"
3:05

16.
"Meeting the Queen"
3:00

17.
"Giants Netted"
2:03

18.
"Finale"
2:14

19.
"Sophie and the BFG"
8:09

Total length:
64:33

text: Release[edit]

text: The BFG premiered on May 14, 2016, at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, in an out of competition screening.[49] It was released in the United States on July 1, 2016,[50] and was distributed worldwide by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, except for territories in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, where the film's distribution rights were sold by DreamWorks' international partner, Mister Smith Entertainment, to independent distributors.[30][51] Entertainment One Films distributed the film in the U.K. on July 22, 2016.[52] DreamWorks' financial partner, Reliance Entertainment, released the film in India on July 29, 2016.[53] Huaxia Film Distribution released the film in China. Medusa Film released the film in Italy on December 30, 2016.

text: Disney released a teaser trailer on December 9, 2015.[54] A second trailer was released on April 5, 2016.[55] A third trailer was released on May 16, 2016.[56] The film held its North American premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on June 21, 2016.[8]

text: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released The BFG on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download on November 29, 2016. The film debuted in third of the home media sales chart for the week ending on December 2, 2016.[57]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: The BFG grossed $55.5 million in North America and $127.9 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $183.3 million, against a production budget of $140 million.[6]

text: In the United States and Canada, The BFG opened alongside The Legend of Tarzan and The Purge: Election Year at 3,357 theaters, and was projected to gross $22–32 million in its opening weekend.[58][59] The film was notably vying for drawing family audiences with the studio's own Finding Dory.[5] It made $775,000 from its Thursday previews, however the low figure was not surprising, given how family films tend to attract less audiences during late-night showings.[60][61][62] This was followed by a $7 million opening day (including previews) and a disappointing $18.6 million opening weekend, which Deadline.com called "an awful start for this film which is estimated to cost $140 million".[63][64] Forbes noted that Steven Spielberg's films tend to have long runs, irrespective of their opening numbers. However, it also pointed out that the July 4th weekend proves to be a non-leggy release schedule and most films released during this time end up making only twice their holiday total over the course of their domestic theatrical run.[65] The New York Times called the opening figures "a colossal misfire".[66]

text: Due to the film's poor performance in North America, the film was considered a box office disappointment.[10][11][12][13] As a result of its low opening numbers in North America, the film needed greater financial success in its international markets, as pointed out by David Hollis, Disney's distribution chief, saying, "we're going to be reliant in a lot of ways on international [audiences]".[66] Internationally – during its opening weekend – where the 4th of July weekend is not a holiday, the film opened to $3.9 million in its opening weekend from two markets, Australia and Russia.[67] In Australia, it opened to $2 million placing third while in Russia it debuted second with $1.9 million, which tops the entire runs of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and War Horse. In the United Kingdom, where the book is more well-known, it opened to $6.9 million.[68]

text: In China, the release was handled by Huaxia Film Distribution. While it benefitted from a robust marketing effort including Spielberg's presence in the country itself, it suffered from a three month long delay after its North American release. It had an estimated $13.8 million opening, debuting at second place behind Operation Mekong.[69][70] Many Chinese online reviews criticized Spielberg for making the film "too juvenile" for adults.[71]

text: The BFG is one of the lowest-grossing films of Spielberg's career, specifically in North America, when accounting for inflation and one of the year's biggest flops, but The Hollywood Reporter noted that Disney would be able to withstand the losses due to the success of Captain America: Civil War and Finding Dory.[72] The site also highlighted that the financial losses for Disney could be $90–100 million based on theatrical returns alone.[73]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 75% based on 272 reviews and an average rating of 6.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The BFG minimizes the darker elements of Roald Dahl's classic in favor of a resolutely good-natured, visually stunning, and largely successful family-friendly adventure."[74] On another aggregator, Metacritic, the film has a score of 66 out of 100 based on 47 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[75] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[76]

text: Justin Chang of Los Angeles Times called Rylance's performance a "brilliant amalgam of performance-capture technology and peerless screen presence."[77] Scott Mendelson of Forbes described the film as "a charming, intelligent, and witty little adventure movie with strong special effects work in the service of a most unassuming story."[78] Mendelson also commended the film's smaller scope in story, as well as Rylance and Barnhill's interaction.[78] Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph called the film "a significant technical accomplishment", adding that "the infinitesimally detailed motion-capture technology alone, which stretches Rylance’s human performance to gargantuan proportions, is river-straddling bounds beyond anything that’s come before it."[79] Critic Matt Zoller Seitz highly appreciated Spielberg's direction of the film, giving the film three and a half out of four stars. Seitz remarks, "I can imagine some adults finding the movie dull; 'Nothing happens', they'll say. 'And it's too nice.' But I can imagine other adults loving the film for helping them remember what it's like to be young enough to hide from a movie monster because he's big and weird-looking and then laugh because he's kind of silly..."[80]

text: Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter compared the film objectively to Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, as a "conspicuously less captivating, magical and transporting experience than its classic forebear." [81] Peter Debruge of Variety, however, compared the film favorably to E.T., writing, "this splendid Steven Spielberg-directed adaptation makes it possible for audiences of all ages to wrap their heads around one of the unlikeliest friendships in cinema history, resulting in the sort of instant family classic “human beans” once relied upon Disney to deliver."[82] A. O. Scott of The New York Times praised the film's digital effects and visual style as "exquisite", though he felt that the film lacked the excitement found in Spielberg's previous fantasy films.[83]

text: Richard Brody of The New Yorker stating that it "plays like a forced march of fun, a mandatory strain of magic and a prescribed dose of poetry, like a movie ready-made for screening in classrooms when a teacher is absent." Brody, however, observes that "Spielberg is the BFG who's menaced by bigger and more monstrous giants who aren't interested in edifying their audiences but merely in consuming them—consuming the consumer, so to speak."[84] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film "technically impressive but listless and tedious... painfully cutesy, silly and gross rather than whimsical and funny." He thought that the film moved far too slowly and was missing a "sense of wonder and adventure", saying that he'd "rather see every one of Spielberg's previous films before having to sit through "The BFG" again".[85] Cole Smithey described the film as a "drab affair". Giving The BFG one star out of five, he criticised its "creepy style of animation [and] dragging tempo".[86] Several critics were unimpressed with Barnhill's performance,[87][88] calling her "somewhat wooden",[89] "cloying"[90] "blah"[91] and "grating".[92]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
List of awards and nominations

Award
Date of ceremony
Category
Recipient(s)
Result
Ref(s)

Annie Awards
February 4, 2017
Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in a Live Action Production
Claude Schitter, Benjaman Folkman, Gary Boyle, David Caeiro and Luke Millar
Nominated
[93]

British Academy Children's Awards
November 20, 2016
BAFTA Kids' Vote
The BFG
Nominated
[94]
[95]

Evening Standard British Film Awards
December 8, 2016
Best Actor
Mark Rylance
Nominated
[96]

Golden Tomato Awards
January 12, 2017
Best Kids/Family Movie 2016
The BFG
5th Place
[97]

London Film Critics' Circle
January 22, 2017
Young British/Irish Performer of the Year
Ruby Barnhill
Nominated
[98]

Satellite Awards
February 19, 2017
Best Original Score
John Williams
Nominated
[99]

Best Visual Effects
The BFG
Nominated

Saturn Awards
June 28, 2017
Best Fantasy Film
The BFG
Nominated
[100]

Best Director
Steven Spielberg
Nominated

Best Writing
Melissa Mathison
Nominated

Best Actor
Mark Rylance
Nominated

Best Performance by a Younger Actor
Ruby Barnhill
Nominated

Best Music
John Williams
Nominated

Best Editing
Michael Kahn
Won

Best Production Design
Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg
Won

Best Costume Design
Joanna Johnston
Nominated

Best Special Effects
Joe Letteri and Joel Whist
Nominated

Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association
December 5, 2016
Best Motion Capture Performance
Mark Rylance
Won
[101]

Women Film Critics Circle
December 19, 2016
Best Animated Female
The BFG
Nominated
[102]

World Soundtrack Awards
October 20, 2016
Film Composer of the Year
John Williams (also for Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
Nominated
[103]


document_title: Efficient frontier

question_text: what is the efficient frontier in portfolio theory

root

text: Efficient frontier

text: In modern portfolio theory, the efficient frontier (or portfolio frontier) is an investment portfolio which occupies the 'efficient' parts of the risk-return spectrum. Formally, it is the set of portfolios which satisfy the condition that no other portfolio exists with a higher expected return but with the same standard deviation of return.[1][2] The efficient frontier was first formulated by Harry Markowitz in 1952.[3]

tag: p

text: Overview[edit]

text: A combination of assets, i.e. a portfolio, is referred to as "efficient" if it has the best possible expected level of return for its level of risk (which is represented by the standard deviation of the portfolio's return).[4] Here, every possible combination of risky assets can be plotted in risk–expected return space, and the collection of all such possible portfolios defines a region in this space. In the absence of the opportunity to hold a risk-free asset, this region is the opportunity set (the feasible set). The positively sloped (upward-sloped) top boundary of this region is a portion of a hyperbola[5] and is called the "efficient frontier."

text: If a risk-free asset is also available, the opportunity set is larger, and its upper boundary, the efficient frontier, is a straight line segment emanating from the vertical axis at the value of the risk-free asset's return and tangent to the risky-assets-only opportunity set. All portfolios between the risk-free asset and the tangency portfolio are portfolios composed of risk-free assets and the tangency portfolio, while all portfolios on the linear frontier above and to the right of the tangency portfolio are generated by borrowing at the risk-free rate and investing the proceeds into the tangency portfolio.


document_title: Captain America: The First Avenger

question_text: who was in the running to play captain america

text: Captain America: The First Avenger

text: Plot[edit]

text: In the present day, scientists in the Arctic uncover an old, frozen aircraft. In March 1942, Nazi officer Johann Schmidt and his men steal a mysterious relic called the Tesseract,[b] which possesses untold powers, from the town of Tønsberg in German-occupied Norway.

text: In New York City, Steve Rogers is rejected for World War II military recruitment because of various health and physical problems. While attending an exhibition of future technologies with his friend, Sgt. James "Bucky" Barnes, Rogers again attempts to enlist. Overhearing Rogers' conversation with Barnes about wanting to help in the war, Dr. Abraham Erskine allows Rogers to enlist. He is recruited into the Strategic Scientific Reserve as part of a "super-soldier" experiment under Erskine, Col. Chester Phillips, and British agent Peggy Carter. Phillips is unconvinced by Erskine's claims that Rogers is the right person for the procedure but relents after seeing Rogers commit an act of self-sacrificing bravery. The night before the treatment, Erskine reveals to Rogers that Schmidt underwent an imperfect version of the procedure and suffered permanent side-effects.

text: Schmidt and Dr. Arnim Zola harness the energies of the Tesseract, intending to use the power to fuel Zola's inventions, mounting an offensive that will change the world. Schmidt discovers Erskine's location and dispatches assassin Heinz Kruger to kill him. Erskine subjects Rogers to the super-soldier treatment, injecting him with a special serum and dosing him with "vita-rays". After Rogers emerges from the experiment taller and more muscular, an undercover Kruger kills Erskine and flees. Rogers pursues and captures Kruger, but the assassin avoids interrogation by committing suicide with a cyanide capsule. With Erskine dead and his super-soldier formula lost, U.S. Senator Brandt has Rogers tour the nation in a colorful costume as "Captain America" to promote war bonds while scientists study him and attempt to rediscover the formula. In 1943, while on tour in Italy performing for active servicemen, Rogers learns that Barnes' unit was MIA in a battle against Schmidt's forces. Refusing to believe that Barnes is dead, Rogers has Carter and engineer Howard Stark fly him behind enemy lines to mount a solo rescue attempt. Rogers infiltrates the fortress of Schmidt's Nazi division Hydra, freeing Barnes and the other prisoners. Rogers confronts Schmidt, who removes a mask to reveal a red, skull-like visage that earned him the sobriquet "the Red Skull". Schmidt escapes and Rogers returns to base with the freed soldiers.

text: Rogers recruits Barnes, Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, Jim Morita, James Montgomery Falsworth, and Jacques Dernier to attack other known Hydra bases. Stark outfits Rogers with advanced equipment, most notably a circular shield made of vibranium, a rare, nearly indestructible metal. Rogers and his team sabotage various Hydra operations. The team later assaults a train carrying Zola. Rogers and Jones succeed in capturing Zola, but Barnes falls from the train to his assumed death.[c] Using information extracted from Zola, the final Hydra stronghold is located, and Rogers leads an attack to stop Schmidt from using weapons of mass destruction on major American cities. Rogers climbs aboard Schmidt's aircraft as it takes off, and during the subsequent fight the Tesseract's container is damaged. Schmidt physically handles the Tesseract, causing him to dissolve in a bright light. The Tesseract burns through the plane and is lost in the ocean. Seeing no way to land the plane without the risk of detonating its weapons, Rogers crashes it in the Arctic. Stark later recovers the Tesseract from the ocean floor but is unable to locate Rogers or the aircraft, presuming him dead.

text: Rogers awakens in a 1940s-style hospital room. Deducing from an anachronistic radio broadcast that something is wrong, he flees outside and finds himself in present-day Times Square, where S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury informs him that he has been "asleep" for nearly 70 years. In a post-credits scene, Fury approaches Rogers and proposes a mission with worldwide ramifications.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America:
A frail, sickly young man who is enhanced to the peak of human ability by an experimental serum in order to aid the United States war effort.[10] Evans, who previously worked with Marvel as the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four film series, 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."[11] 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."[12] Regarding the extent of the character's abilities Evans remarked, "He would crush the Olympics. 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."[13] Theater actor Leander Deeny was the body double in some shots for Steve Rogers' pre-transformation physique as well as appearing as a bartender.[14][15]
Tommy Lee Jones as Chester 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.[16] 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".[17]
Hugo Weaving as Johann Schmidt / Red Skull:
Adolf Hitler's head of advanced weaponry and commander of the terrorist organization Hydra, whose own plan for world domination involves harnessing the power of the magical object known as the Tesseract.[11][18][19][20] Weaving stated that he patterned Red Skull's accent on those of Werner Herzog and Klaus Maria Brandauer.[21] 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."[22]
Hayley Atwell as 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."[23] About the character, Atwell stated, "I likened her character to that famous Ginger 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."[24] 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."[25]
Sebastian Stan as James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes:
A sergeant in the United States Army, Rogers' best friend and member of his squad of commandos. Stan has signed on for "five or six pictures".[26] 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, calling Band 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".[27]
Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark:
The father of Tony Stark, who worked on various government projects dating back to the World War II era.[28][29] 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 in Iron 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 slick Howard Hughes type that's into aviation and women!"[30]
Neal McDonough as Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan:
A member of Steve Rogers' squad of commandos. McDonough said he grew Dugan's trademark mustache and wore the character's signature bowler hat. 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."[31]
Derek Luke as Gabe 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?'"[32]
Stanley Tucci as Abraham Erskine:
The scientist who created the Super Soldier Serum.[33] 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.[34]

tag: ul

text: Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role as Nick Fury, the director of the super-spy agency, S.H.I.E.L.D.[35] Kenneth Choi appears as Jim Morita, a Japanese-American member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Choi said he was the last actor to audition for the part and that he read sides from Saving 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."[36] Bruno Ricci stars as Jacques Dernier, a French member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Ricci auditioned for and got the part while filming the French series The Hawk.[37] JJ Feild appears as James 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."[38] Additionally, Toby Jones was cast as Arnim Zola, a biochemist for the Nazi party,[39] Richard Armitage portrays Heinz Kruger, the Red Skull's top assassin,[40] Lex Shrapnel portrays Gilmore Hodge, a candidate for the super soldier program,[41] Michael Brandon portrays Brandt, a United States Senator who recognizes the PR potential of Captain America,[42] Natalie Dormer portrays Lorraine, a private who attempts to seduce Rogers,[43] and Jenna Coleman appears as Connie, Bucky's date at the World Expo.[44] Jeff Goldblum had originally been approached to play Brandt, before being cast as Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnarok.[45] Stan Lee has a cameo appearance as a general.[46]

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text:
"[Captain America] wants to serve his country, but he's not this sort of jingoistic 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 of Captain America: The First Avenger, about the film.[47]

tag: div

text: In April 1997, Marvel was in negotiations with Mark Gordon and Gary Levinsohn to produce Captain America, and Larry Wilson and Leslie Bohem were set to write a script.[48] In May 2000, Marvel teamed with Artisan Entertainment to help finance the film.[49] However, a lawsuit arose between Marvel Comics and Joe Simon over the ownership of Captain America copyrights, disrupting the development process of the film. The lawsuit was eventually settled in September 2003.[50] In 2005, Marvel received a $525 million investment from Merrill Lynch, allowing them to independently produce ten films, including Captain America. Paramount Pictures agreed to distribute the film.[49][51][52] Originally, the film would stand alone; producer Kevin Feige said "about half" the movie would be set during World War II before moving into the modern day.[53] Producer Avi Arad said, "The biggest opportunity with Captain 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-town United States. Sixty years go by, and who are we today? Are we better?" He cited the Back 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".[54] In February 2006, Arad hoped to have a summer 2008 theatrical release date.[55] Jon Favreau approached Arad to direct the film as a comedy, but he chose to make Iron Man instead.[56] In April 2006, David Self was hired to write the script.[57] He explained that Captain America was his favorite superhero as a child because "my dad told me I could one day be Captain America".[58] Joe Johnston met with Marvel to discuss directing the film.[59]

text: Captain America was put on hold during the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. However, in January 2008, Marvel Entertainment reached an interim comprehensive agreement with the Writers Guild of America that would put writers immediately back to work on various projects that were under the company's development.[60] On May 5, 2008 (after the success of Iron Man), Marvel announced the film The First Avenger: Captain America (the working title) for release in May 6, 2011 (before being pushed back to July 22).[61] Louis Leterrier, director of The Incredible Hulk, viewed some of the concept art being created for the film and was impressed enough to offer his services, but Marvel turned him down.[62] Johnston finally signed on in November 2008,[59] and he hired Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely to rewrite.[63] Feige cited Johnston's directorial work on October Sky and The Rocketeer and his special effects work on the original Star Wars trilogy to explain why he was an appropriate choice. Raiders of the Lost Ark was an influence on the film, because they hoped the film would not feel like a period piece.[64]

text: 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 and Jack Kirby reintroduced the character in the 1960s.[53] 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."[65] Later, after the election of US President Barack Obama, Feige commented, "The idea of change and hope has permeated the country, regardless of politics, and that includes Hollywood. Discussions in all our development meetings include the zeitgeist and how it's changed in the last two weeks. Things are being adjusted".[66]

text: Pre-production[edit]

text: In December 2009, director Joe Johnston indicated that he planned to start filming in April 2010.[67] In a separate interview that month, he described the film's pre-production: "Rick Heinrichs is production-designing and we're set up down in Manhattan 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."[68] In February 2010, Johnston stated that the Invaders will appear in "the entire second half" of the film,[69] leading fans to speculate this was the World War II-era Marvel superhero team of that name,[70] and in November Johnston refuted speculation that the Sub-Mariner, an Invaders team-member in the comics, would be included.[71] 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.[70] Christopher Markus, one of the screenwriters, said the unnamed group was "called the Howling Commandos in the script, but no one says that out loud."[70]

text: 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 in Tron: Legacy,[72] was appointed Lead Vehicle Designer.[73] Director Johnston cited Simon's book Cosmic Motors as a reason to trust his influence, saying "he's sort of the guy I wanted to be when I was designing stuff for Star Wars".[74] The Red Skull's car, for instance, was based on two Mercedes-Benz vehicles from the 1930s, the 540K and the G4.[73]

text: Variety reported in March 2010 that Chris Evans was cast as Captain America and Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull;[18] Marvel Studios confirmed the latter in May.[75] Ryan Phillippe and John Krasinski were also considered for the role of Captain America.[76] In April 2010, Sebastian Stan, who had been mentioned in media accounts as a possibility for the title role, was cast as Bucky Barnes. Stan is contracted for multiple films.[26] Also in April, Marvel announced that Hayley Atwell had been cast as Peggy Carter, and that the film's name had been changed from The First Avenger: Captain America to Captain America: The First Avenger.[77] The next day it was reported that Joss Whedon would be rewriting the script as part of his negotiation to write and direct The Avengers. Whedon said in August, "I just got to make some character connections. The structure of the thing was really tight and I loved it, but there were a couple of opportunities to find his voice a little bit —and some of the other characters' — and make the connections so that you understood exactly why he wanted to be who he wanted to be. And progressing through the script to flesh it out a little bit".[78] Samuel L. Jackson revealed in an interview that he would reprise his role as Nick Fury in the film.[35]

text: In May, Toby Jones entered final negotiations to play Arnim Zola.[39] Iron Man director Jon Favreau said a younger Howard Stark would appear in the film, played by Dominic Cooper.[28][29] Atwell revealed that Tommy Lee Jones would have a role in the film.[79] By June, Neal McDonough was in talks to play Dum Dum Dugan.[80] Four days later, he confirmed he was taking the part.[81] The same day, Stanley Tucci joined the cast as Dr. Abraham Erskine, the scientist who created the super-soldier serum.[33] In November 2013, McDonough revealed that he is signed to appear in multiple projects for Marvel, not limited to films.[82]

text: Filming[edit]

text: Principal photography began on June 28, 2010,[83] with the working title FrostBite.[84] On the same day, Marvel confirmed that Tommy Lee Jones had been cast to play US Army Colonel Chester Phillips.[16] The next day Marvel confirmed that Dominic Cooper would portray the younger version of Howard Stark, the character played by John Slattery in Iron Man 2.[85] It was announced that the film would shoot in London in late July and was expected to include scenes featuring key London landmarks.[86] War scenes were filmed in September at the former Royal Navy Propellant Factory in the Welsh village of Caerwent.[87][88] Filming was scheduled to take place that month in the Northern Quarter of Manchester, where parts of the 2004 film Alfie and the 2009 Sherlock Holmes had been shot,[89] followed by the Stanley Dock area of Liverpool, both doubling for the period's Lower East Side of Manhattan.[90] Further scenes were scheduled to be shot in Liverpool's Albert Dock.[91] Johnston included a scene of a technology fair that includes in passing a display case containing the 1940s android superhero known as the original Human Torch, another character, like Captain America, in comics published by Marvel Comics' predecessor, Timely Comics.[92]

text: In July 2010, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige said that both this film and Thor would be released in 3-D.[93] Johnston did a one-day test shooting with a 3-D rig, rather than shooting in 2-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's visual effects in true 3-D.[93]

text: Post-production[edit]

text: 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.[94] In February 2011, it was announced that Alan Silvestri had been chosen to compose the film score.[95] In March 2011, it was reported that Captain America: The First Avenger would be undergoing reshoots in the United Kingdom and in Los Angeles in April 2011.[96][97] A scene was also filmed in New York City's Times Square on April 23, 2011.[98]

text: The film features nearly 1,600 visual effects shots, which were split between thirteen different companies.[99] To achieve the appearance of the skinny, pre-serum Steve Rogers, director Joe Johnston stated that he used two major techniques:

text: 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....[100]

text: Captain America's shield, which serves as both a defensive tool and a weapon, came in four types: metal, fiberglass, rubber, and computer graphics (CG).[99] 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 of polyurethane, 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."[70] 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".[99]

text: 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.[99]

text: Closing credits were created by visual effects firm Rok!t by means of 3-D and stereoscopic processing that used iconic American war propaganda, such as James Montgomery Flagg's Uncle Sam recruitment poster from World War I and J. Howard Miller's "We Can Do It!" poster from World War II.[101]

text: Music[edit]

text: The soundtrack album for Captain America: The First Avenger includes the original score by Alan Silvestri, as well as an original song "Star Spangled Man" with music composed by Alan Menken and lyrics by David Zippel. The soundtrack was recorded at Air Studios in London and released by Walt Disney Records on July 19, 2011.[102]

text: Release[edit]

text: The world premiere of Captain America: The First Avenger was held on July 19, 2011, at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California.[103] The film was screened at the San Diego Comic-Con International on July 21, 2011.[104] It was commercially released in the United States and Canada on July 22, 2011.[105][106]

text: 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 alternative The 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, and Ukraine. An "insider" speaking to The 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.[107] 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,[107] but it eventually opened there in the second weekend of September.[108]

text: Days before the film's release, a teaser trailer for The Avengers that served as a post-credits scene of Captain 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".[109]

text: Marketing[edit]

text: At the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International, some footage that had been shot in the previous week was shown at the San Diego Convention Center.[21] The first television advertisement aired during Super Bowl XLV on the Fox network in the United States. Paramount paid $3 million to run the 30-second advertisement.[110] The first full trailer was released in March 2011.[111] In May 2011, the USO girls from the film performed aboard the USS Intrepid at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum as a part of the 2011 Fleet Week celebration in New York City.[112] In June 2011, Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-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.[113] In July 2011, Paramount Pictures promoted the film during an Independence Day celebration hosted by the Chicago White Sox.[114] Promotional partners include Harley-Davidson, Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins.[115]

text: In February 2011, Marvel Comics launched the eight-issue digital comic Captain America: First Vengeance, on the same day as the first trailer aired. Written by Fred Van Lente and featuring a rotation of artists, the story is set in the Marvel 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.[116]

text: Sega announced a video game tie-in titled Captain America: Super Soldier, that was released in 2011 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Nintendo DS.[117] Marvel released the mobile game, Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty, in July 2011.[118] A toy line was released as well.[119]

text: Home media[edit]

text: Captain America: The First Avenger was released on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D and DVD 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 film A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer, a sneak peek of The Avengers, six behind-the-scenes featurettes, and deleted scenes with commentary by director Joe Johnston, director of photography Shelly Johnson and editor Jeff Ford.[120] 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.[121][122]

text: The film was also collected in a 10-disc box set titled "Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled" which includes all of the Phase One films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[123] It was released on April 2, 2013.[124][125]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: 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.[6]

text: 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 like Thor and Green Lantern as well as the prequel X-Men: First Class, which all made between $3.25 million and $3.5 million in Friday midnights.[126] On Friday, the film opened at the number one spot at the American and Canadian box office with $25.7 million.[127] It then went on to make $65.1 million in what was the second highest-grossing opening weekend for a superhero film in 2011, behind Thor ($65.7 million).[128] Captain America: The First Avenger is the third highest-grossing motion picture set during the World War II era, after Saving Private Ryan and Pearl Harbor.[129]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 80% approval rating with an average rating of 7/10 based on 252 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."[130] Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score, rated the film 66 out of 100 based on 43 reviews from critics indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[131] Audiences surveyed by Cinemascore gave the film an "A-" rating.[132]

text: Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel gave Captain 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 to Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark.'"[133] Roger Ebert of the Chicago 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 and Iron Man as its templates".[134] A. O. Scott of The New York Times declared it "pretty good fun".[135]

text: Karina Longworth of The 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".[136] Peter Debruge of Variety said, "Captain America: The First Avenger plays like a by-the-numbers prequel for Marvel Studios' forthcoming The Avengers movie".[137] Kirk Honeycutt of The 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's The Avengers, this one feels perhaps a little too simplistic and routine".[138]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Year
Award
Category
Recipient(s)
Result
Ref.

2011
Teen Choice Awards
Choice Summer: Movie
Captain America: The First Avenger
Nominated
[139]

Choice Summer Movie Star: Male
Chris Evans
Nominated

Scream Awards
The Ultimate Scream
Captain America: The First Avenger
Nominated
[140]

Best Science Fiction Movie
Captain America: The First Avenger
Nominated

Best Science Fiction Actress
Hayley Atwell
Nominated

Best Science Fiction Actor
Chris Evans
Nominated

Best Villain
Hugo Weaving as Red Skull
Nominated

Best Superhero
Chris Evans as Captain America
Won

Best Supporting Actor
Tommy Lee Jones
Nominated

Breakout Performance – Female
Hayley Atwell
Nominated

Fight Scene of the Year
Final Battle: Captain America vs. Red Skull
Nominated

Best 3-D Movie
Captain America: The First Avenger
Nominated

Best Comic Book Movie
Captain America: The First Avenger
Nominated

2012
BMI Film & TV Awards
Film Music Award
Alan Silvestri
Won
[141]

People's Choice Awards
Favorite Movie Superhero
Chris Evans
Nominated
[142]

Visual Effects Society Awards
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture
Charlie Noble, Mark Soper, Christopher Townsend, and Edson Williams
Nominated
[143]

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture
Casey Allen, Trent Claus, Brian Hajek, and Cliff Welsh
Won

Empire Awards
Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Captain America: The First Avenger
Nominated
[144]

MTV Movie Awards
Best Hero
Captain America
Nominated
[145]

Saturn Awards
Best Science Fiction Film
Captain America: The First Avenger
Nominated
[146]

Best Actor
Chris Evans
Nominated

Best Supporting Actor
Stanley Tucci
Nominated

Best Music
Alan Silvestri
Nominated

Best Production Design
Rick Heinrichs
Nominated

Best Costume
Anne B. Sheppard
Nominated

Best Special Effects
Mark Soper, Christopher Townsend, Paul Corbould
Nominated

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text: Sequels[edit]

text: Captain America: The Winter Soldier[edit]

text: A sequel, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, directed by Anthony and Joseph Russo, was released on April 4, 2014.[147][148] Evans, Stan, Atwell, Jones, and Jackson reprise their roles as Captain America, Bucky Barnes, Peggy Carter, Arnim Zola and Nick Fury, respectively. They are joined by Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, and Robert Redford as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, Sam Wilson / Falcon, and Alexander Pierce, respectively.[149]

text: Captain America: Civil War[edit]

text: Captain America: Civil War was released on May 6, 2016, and again is directed by the Russo brothers.[150][151] Evans, Johansson, Stan and Mackie reprise their roles from The Winter Soldier,[152][153] and they are joined by Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man, Paul Bettany as Vision, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye, Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes / War Machine, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch, Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man and William Hurt as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross [154] all reprising roles from previous MCU films.

text: Notes[edit]

text:
^ Jump up to: a b In July 2013, the film's distribution rights were transferred from Paramount Pictures to the Walt Disney Studios.[1][2][3]
Jump up ^ Producer Kevin Feige stated that the Tesseract of the films is based on the Cosmic Cube of the comics.[7] After Thor: The Dark World, he further stated it was also the Space Infinity Stone.[8]
Jump up ^ Speaking together, with some crosstalk, Joe Johnston, Shelly Johnson, and Jeffrey Ford said on the audio commentary that the experiments performed by Zola enabled Barnes to survive the fall shown in the film.[9]

tag: ol