Marvel's latest comic book adaptation, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, has made an impressive debut at the box office, generating $118 million from 4,125 North American theaters over the weekend. This performance exceeded initial expectations, which predicted ticket sales between $100 million and $110 million. The film also shone internationally, raking in another $100 million, bringing its global total to $218 million.
Directed by Matt Shakman, The Fantastic Four features a retro-futuristic adventure that stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn as the iconic team members. The film follows Mister Fantastic (Pascal), Invisible Woman (Kirby), The Thing (Moss-Bachrach), and Human Torch (Quinn) as they battle against a planet-devouring cosmic entity. This engaging storyline is expected to resonate well with audiences, making it a much-needed win for Marvel Studios.
Despite its strong opening, The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives at a pivotal moment for Marvel Studios, which has faced challenges in maintaining commercial consistency over the past five years. While successful films like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever have led to victories post-pandemic, attempts to spotlight newer characters have often fallen flat. For instance, the much-discussed Thunderbolts ended its run with a mere $382 million, marking it as one of the lowest-grossing entries in Marvel's extensive 37-film franchise.
The Fantastic Four was produced at a significant cost of over $200 million, necessitating strong ongoing ticket sales to avoid the fate of other recent Marvel projects. Films such as Captain America: Brave New World and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania managed weak performances after their initial openings. Fortunately, First Steps benefits from positive word-of-mouth, boasting an impressive 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an encouraging A- grade on CinemaScore exit polls.
Moreover, with virtually no competition looming in the all-audience tentpole category, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is poised to maintain its momentum. The film saw a significant boost from premium large formats, accounting for 46% of ticket sales. Notably, IMAX contributed $16 million domestically, representing 13.6% of the film's initial haul—marking the second-highest market share ever for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film.
Audience demographics reveal that nearly 70% of opening weekend viewers identified as male, while 42% of all ticket buyers were under the age of 25, highlighting the film's appeal among younger demographics.
Hollywood's attempts to adapt The Fantastic Four—often referred to as Marvel's first family—have faced numerous hurdles. Previous adaptations by 20th Century Fox, including 2005’s Fantastic Four and 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, were commercially successful but received poor critical feedback. The 2015 reboot, featuring Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan, struggled at the box office, grossing only $167 million globally.
As it stands, The Fantastic Four: First Steps ranks as the year's fourth-biggest domestic debut, following titles like A Minecraft Movie and Lilo & Stitch. The film opened just two weekends after another superhero tentpole, Superman, which slipped to second place with $24.9 million from 3,930 screens, experiencing a 57% decline from its previous outing.
Industry analyst David A. Gross comments on the positive trajectory of superhero films, stating, “Fantastic Four and Superman are performing extremely well. Superheroes are showing some swagger, and it’s good news for the industry.”
Third place in the domestic box office was held by Universal’s Jurassic World Rebirth, which brought in $13 million this weekend, accumulating $301 million in North America. Meanwhile, Apple’s F1: The Movie impressively climbed to the fourth spot with $6.2 million, making it Apple’s highest-grossing film to date.
Lastly, Paramount’s animated musical Smurfs rounded out the top five but faced a 50% drop from its disappointing debut, while Sony’s slasher sequel I Know What You Did Last Summer saw a significant decline of 60% in its second weekend.
In conclusion, The Fantastic Four: First Steps not only marks a strong entry for Marvel Studios but also revitalizes interest in superhero films, proving there is still room for success in this ever-competitive cinematic landscape.
