James Oconner 
Anil Krishna 
Jonathan Millar 
Chris Evans’ “Sacrifice” Gets a Cold Reception Ahead of His Marvel Comeback
© Netflix
Chris Evans is about to return as Steve Rogers in Avengers: Doomsday, but his latest film hasn’t exactly won over audiences in the meantime. Sacrifice, which has landed on Netflix, is getting a pretty rough response on Rotten Tomatoes, where its audience score sits at just 35% from more than 50 ratings. That’s not the kind of reception you’d hope for ahead of a big Marvel comeback, although one disappointing film doesn’t necessarily mean much for what Evans has coming next.
According to ScreenRant, the audience score isn’t far off the critics’ rating, which stands at 38%. The film first premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, and the reviews haven’t improved much since then. Directed by Romain Gavras, Sacrifice stars Evans as Mike Tyler, a movie star who’s hoping to give his career a much-needed boost by attending a fancy environmental charity gala. Things take a very strange turn when a radical eco-activist named Joan, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, kidnaps him and several other guests. She’s convinced that an ancient prophecy calls for three human sacrifices to save the world.
That’s quite a premise, and the film certainly has no shortage of familiar faces. Vincent Cassel, Salma Hayek, Ambika Mod, Sam Richardson, John Malkovich and Charli XCX are also part of the cast. The problem, judging by the response so far, is that the story doesn’t quite know what to do with all its ideas. Viewers have criticised the slow-moving plot and the script, while the film’s mix of satire and darker themes hasn’t worked for everyone.
There are some positives, though. The performances have received a bit of praise, and the dark humour in the opening stretch seems to have landed better than what follows. Even ScreenRant reviewer Mae Abdulbaki, who gave the film 4 out of 10, found something to like in Evans’ comic timing. It’s a reminder that the actor can be funny in ways that don’t always get much attention when he’s playing Captain America. Unfortunately, a good performance can only do so much when the story around it isn’t coming together.
Sacrifice Arrives Before Chris Evans Returns in Avengers: Doomsday
The timing of Sacrifice makes the reaction a little more noticeable, since Evans is preparing to step back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He wasn’t included in the official Avengers: Doomsday cast announcement in March 2025, which naturally led to questions about whether Steve Rogers would appear at all. That changed when Evans showed up in the film’s debut teaser, confirming that the character would be back. The footage features Steve Rogers and teases a reunion involving Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, with a brief reference to Mjolnir adding to the excitement.
It’s hard to imagine two projects that look more different on paper. Sacrifice is a strange, dark satire about celebrity, environmental extremism and a very unsettling prophecy. Avengers: Doomsday, meanwhile, is one of Marvel’s biggest upcoming films, with an audience that already has years of history with Steve Rogers. One is trying to do something a little unusual; the other brings back a character many fans have been waiting to see again.
The disappointing response to Sacrifice doesn’t automatically say anything about Evans’ ability as an actor. A film can have a strong cast and still fall apart if the writing and direction aren’t working. And Evans has spent years playing a character whose popularity is difficult to separate from the wider Marvel franchise. It’s always going to be a different challenge when he takes on a project that doesn’t have that built-in audience goodwill.
Still, Sacrifice adds to a run of less successful critical responses for Evans, including Honey Don’t!, and that makes his next major role all the more interesting. Avengers: Doomsday has enormous expectations attached to it, especially now that Steve Rogers is back in the picture. But simply bringing the character back won’t be enough on its own. Marvel will need to give him a worthwhile reason to return, rather than relying entirely on the audience’s affection for the old days.
For now, Sacrifice is struggling to make much of an impression with viewers, while Evans’ Marvel comeback is generating the kind of excitement his non-franchise projects rarely receive. Whether Avengers: Doomsday delivers on that excitement remains to be seen. At least for Evans, the reaction to one film doesn’t have to define the next.
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