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Jason Barney: There is no doubt this is an outstanding opening - one that on many levels meets expectations. This presents a problem for the film industry in general, but as far as Captain America, acceptance of this film, and what is happening with the Marvel movies, the sky appears to be the limit.

On a personal level, I thought Captain America had the most to gain coming out of Avengers. The first movie featuring the character was just okay in my book, although it did receive box office support. When Avengers came out, the characterization of all of superheroes was fantastic...which led to a little bit of an increased exposure to Captain America because his role as one of the leaders of the group. Couple his so-so first outing with his being involved in some of the most memorable/comic book type scenes in Avengers, the biggest film of the last few years, and fan interest was bound to grow. In the current film environment in which we live, I am not at all surprised that Captain America has achieved this type of opening, domestically and abroad. The film industry and certain weekends have become directly related to "event" status for families and movie fans, and the current Marvel slate is THE defining story developing within this framework.

This does not bode well for the industry in general, however. On a much smaller scale, films like Divergent and Noah are compared to some of these true blockbusters and there is just no way they can even come close to lofty expectations. Maybe Divergent and Noah are not the best examples, but other films have gone to theater with hopes of becoming the "next" franchise, the the results have been disasters. Lone Ranger? 47 Ronin? Pompeii? The industry is certainly picking up on the event status/appeal and it is paying off in a big way for Marvel.

I don't want to sound too negative, because I have wanted this film to be a success for some time. Of all of the characters in Avengers, Captain America's role was the most interesting to me. It is nice to see his status expanding and I fully expect the film to do well.

Kim Hollis: I continue to be impressed with how perfectly Disney has executed their Marvel strategy. A few years ago, we were wondering if people would turn out for a Thor movie, or if Captain America would ever have international appeal on his own. Now we know that in both cases the answer is yes, and the performance of these films has to be exceeding Disney's wildest dreams. I'm particularly impressed that a sequel to Captain America, a nice superhero movie that was so much of a throwback that I was never sure the character could work well as a standalone character, has just blown the original movie out of the water.

While we keep pondering possible superhero fatigue, I don't think audiences are bored of the genre yet. They do seem to be able to sense lackluster efforts, though, and these are the films that come up whenever we start talking about fatigue.

David Mumpower: What I would add is that the popularity of Captain America is refreshing in that as far as superheroes go, he is the least cynical. On multiple occasions, I have lamented how Christopher Nolan's popularity with Batman has persuaded so many wannabes to craft the darkest possible takes on iconic characters. This sequel avoided that well worn path by choosing to be celebrate the stubborn purity of Steve Rogers.

Captain America is a relic from a golden age who place in current society is tenuous at best. Despite the differences between his upbringing and his new place in history, Steve Rogers still manages to be himself, effectively earning his stripes again as he becomes the de facto leader of The Avengers. The genius of The Winter Soldier as a concept, both in the comics and in the movie, is that the one dark aspect of his past, his failure to save someone he loves, catches up with him 70 years later. In selecting this premise as the backdrop for the Captain America sequel, the character has been provided an advantage that Thor 2 and (to a lesser extent) Iron Man 3 lacked, a natural jumping off point for further character development.

Because of all the above, I am unsurprised by the explosive popularity of The Winter Soldier in North America. The overseas revenue, on the other hand, is a bit like G. I. Joe for me. Given the jingoistic nature of the subject matter, it should be a difficult property to market abroad. Somehow, the scalding pace of Captain America 2 is so dramatic that $750 million is a distinct possibility right now, maybe even a probability. I expected The Winter Soldier to do better than its predecessor overseas over the long term. I did not anticipate this kind of first round knockout, though. I believe it is fair to say that at least initially, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a more successful project than Iron Man 3, relative to reasonable expectations.

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