The Fantastic Four: First Steps 2025
‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Blasts Off With $218M Global Bow; Milestones Aplenty For ‘Jurassic’, ’Superman’, ‘F1’ & ‘Dragon’ – International Box Office
Marvel/Disney’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps has come in with an estimated $218M global opening. While this is lower than where we saw it yesterday, it remains above the pre-weekend projection, both worldwide and in terms of international box office. The latter landed at $100M, the top end of our pre-opening projection.
The overseas debut is 13% ahead of Thunderbolts*, 11% ahead of Superman and 4% above Captain America: Brave New World in like-for-like markets at current rates. The Fantastic Four folks also scored the biggest superhero opening of 2025 in Mexico, the UK, France, Italy, Spain and the European and Latin American regions, as well as several smaller markets.
The offshore take of $100M is about 46% of the global total. Normally, in this genre, we see overseas numbers much higher than domestic, but that’s not been the case recently (see Superman‘s bow at 43% from overseas). Is it a sign of the times, or the properties, or other vagaries? Likely a mix of those, but Hollywood is also facing challenges in Asia.
We’ve known for a long while now that China is not the slam-dunk it once was, and that’s factored into consideration. What’s more worrying is that studio films are not always clicking amid local productions in other Asian markets. This weekend is perhaps an anomaly because there is a huge movie (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle) in Japan and also a new local title in Korea (Omniscient Reader). All boats rise, but there’s a rethink needed for audiences in the region.
This is food for thought that we’ll revisit, but speaking of a movie that’s doing better domestically than overseas, Warner Bros’ Superman has topped the half-billion milestone, now at $502.7M worldwide, including $213.2M from international.
On the flipside, Universal/Amblin’s Jurassic World Rebirth has topped $700M global ($718.4M), with a heftier overseas haul ($416.8M), while Apple Original Films’s F1, via Warner Bros, has sped to $509.7M worldwide amid great holds, and with $344.1M coming from the international box office.
Friday openers overseas included Spain, China and Japan. As previously noted, China is just not playing ball – nor was it expected to. Japan and Korea have local movies on the high end.
Latin America and Europe are leaning into the family.
The Top 5 markets for The Fantastic Four: First Steps through Friday are as follows: Mexico ($6.2M), UK ($5.7M), France ($3.5M), Brazil ($2.6M) and Italy ($2.4M).
We’ll have a full update on Sunday.
PREVIOUS, FRIDAY: Marvel/Disney’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps kicked off overseas rollout on Wednesday, and through Thursday is in 44 material offshore markets. The international box office cume through Thursday is an estimated $27M. That includes No. 1 opening days across Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific.
At this early stage in the proceedings, First Steps is estimated to be running 57% ahead of Captain America: Brave New World, 32% over Superman and 9% above Thunderbolts* in like-for-like markets and at current exchange rates.
As we noted in our global preview, the international box office launch projection for the Matt Shakman-directed Fantastic Four is $90M-$100M, with room for upside.
The movie — starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Julia Garner — has also helped propel The Walt Disney Studios past the $3B mark globally. When The Fantastic Four’s domestic previews are factored in today, Dis will cross the milestone; the first studio to get there in 2025.
The Top 5 overseas markets on First Steps through Thursday are Mexico ($4.1M), UK ($2.8M), France ($2.7M), Italy ($1.7M) and Brazil ($1.7M).
On Wednesday, France logged the 3rd highest opening day of 2025, up 84% on Thunderbolts*, 80% ahead of Superman (+13% including previews), 57% over Captain America: Brave New World and 16% over Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Italy also had the 3rd best opening day of 2025, ahead of Superman (+111%), Captain America: Brave New World (+81%), Thunderbolts* (+63%) and Quantumania (+47%).
Netherlands gave the family the 2nd highest opening day of 2025, well above Superman (+122%), Captain America: Brave New World (+67%), and Thunderbolts* (+37%), as well as 5% ahead of Quantumania.
Asia-Pacific saw strong market shares in Wednesday launches (89% Indonesia, 76% Philippines, 53% Hong Kong) and positive social reactions.
On Thursday, majors joining the family included Mexico, UK, Brazil, Australia, Germany and Korea.As noted above, the Latin America bows were all No. 1s while the regional debut saw the 3rd highest opening day of the year.
Mexico, which leads all overseas play after just one day, came in 97% ahead of Brave New World, 51% ahead of Superman and 3% ahead of Thunderbolts*. First Steps took 68% market share on Thursday. Also on Thursday, the UK greeted F4:FS with the 2nd biggest opening day of summer 2025. While the movie came in below Superman (-23%), that film opened on a Friday. Germany’s opening Thursday was 136% ahead of Superman. 
In Australia on Thursday F4:FS had 60% market share and scored the biggest Marvel opening day of the year, landing 57% ahead of Thunderbolts* and 45% ahead of Captain America: Brave New World. Versus Superman, it was -2%/-46% (including/excluding previews), the latter having launched during school holidays.
In Korea, where F4:FS opened on Thursday to sidestep a new local title, the debut was, as expected, somewhat muted, but still a No. 1 start on the day. The cume there through Friday (Friday is not reflected in the international total above) is $1.04M.
Markets that open today include China, Japan and Spain. China, as previously noted, is soft on superheroes (and soft overall) and Japan has some mega local titles in the mix – but we should see some good numbers out of Spain.
We’ll have more throughout the weekend.
'Fantastic Four: First Steps' scores Marvel's first $100 million box office opening of 2025
LOS ANGELES — Marvel's first family has finally found box office gold. "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," the first film about the superheroes made under the guidance of Kevin Feige and the Walt Disney Co., earned $118 million in its first weekend in 4,125 North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.
That makes it the fourth biggest opening of the year, behind "A Minecraft Movie," "Lilo & Stitch" and "Superman," and the biggest Marvel opening since "Deadpool & Wolverine" grossed $211 million out of the gate last summer. Internationally, "Fantastic Four" made $100 million from 52 territories, adding up to a $218 million worldwide debut. The numbers were within the range the studio was expecting.
The film arrived in the wake of another big superhero reboot, James Gunn's "Superman," which opened three weekends ago and has already crossed $500 million globally. That film, from the other main player in comic book films, DC Studios, took second place with $24.9 million domestically.
The box office success of "First Steps" and "Superman" means "the whole notion of superhero fatigue, which has been talked about a lot, can I think be put to rest. I always say it's bad movie fatigue, not superhero fatigue," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore.
"First Steps" is the latest attempt at bringing the superhuman family to the big screen, following lackluster performances for other versions. The film, based on the original Marvel comics, is set during the 1960s in a retro-futuristic world led by the Fantastic Four, a family of astronauts-turned-superhuman from exposure to cosmic rays during a space mission.
The family is made up of Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), who can stretch his body to incredible lengths; Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), who can render herself invisible; Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), who transforms into a fiery human torch; and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who possesses tremendous superhuman strength with his stone-like flesh.The movie takes place four years after the family gained powers, during which Reed's inventions have transformed technology, and Sue's diplomacy has led to global peace.Both audiences and critics responded positively to the film, which currently has an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and promising exit poll responses from opening weekend ticket buyers. An estimated 46% of audiences chose to see it on premium screens, including IMAX and other large formats.
The once towering Marvel is working to rebuild audience enthusiasm for its films and characters. Its two previous offerings this year did not reach the cosmic box office heights of "Deadpool & Wolverine," which made over $1.3 billion, or those of the "Avengers"-era. But critically, the films have been on an upswing since the poorly reviewed "Captain America: Brave New World," which ultimately grossed $415 million worldwide. "Thunderbolts," which jumpstarted the summer movie season, was better received critically but financially is capping out at just over $382 million globally.
Like "Deadpool and Wolverine," the Fantastic Four characters had been under the banner of 20th Century Fox for years. The studio produced two critically loathed, but decently profitable attempts in the mid-2000s with future Captain America Chris Evans as the Human Torch. In 2015, it tried again (unsuccessfully) with Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller. They got another chance after Disney's $71 billion acquisition of Fox's entertainment assets in 2019.
The "Fantastic Four's" opening weekend results were a little less than some rival studio projections, Dergarabedian said. Nonetheless, the film is expected to carry movie theater earnings well into August.
Holdovers dominated the top 10, but one other newcomer managed to make the chart. The dark romantic comedy "Oh, Hi!" earned $1.1 million from 866 screens.
"Jurassic World Rebirth" landed in third place in its fourth weekend with $13 million, followed by "F1" with $6.2 million. The Brad Pitt racing movie also passed $500 million globally. "Smurfs" rounded out the top five with $5.4 million in its second weekend.
Disney’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” stormed the domestic box office, topping superhero competitor “Superman” to finish No. 1 with $118 million.
The reboot was a major comeback for the series, falling within range of analysts’ expectations but short of a hopeful $130 million. “Fantastic Four” is also the best-performing weekend for a Marvel film this year, easily surpassing “Captain America: Brave New World” in February ($88.5 million) and “Thunderbolts” in May ($74.3 million).
“This new phase for Marvel is truly important for the brand,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst at Comscore, adding that it “doubles down on the ‘Thunderbolts’ success and is showing that audiences love going to superhero movies in the movie theater.”
Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder and owner of Box Office Theory, called “Fantastic Four” a “zero-homework-required” release, because it stands separate from the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s established storylines.
“That’s exactly where their franchise needs to be right now, as they not only try to keep those die-hard fans but bring back some of the more casual watchers,” said Robbins.
While some industry experts have said moviegoers may be experiencing “superhero fatigue,” Daniel Loria, editorial director at BoxOffice Pro, said Marvel may be slowed by “franchise fatigue.” Marvel Studios has released 37 movies since “Iron Man” in 2008, with four “Avengers” movies between 2012 and 2019 having combined to gross about $10 billion when adjusted for inflation.
Perhaps adding to the Marvel fatigue was Disney releasing Marvel Cinematic Universe television series on its streaming service, which complicated the franchise, Dergarabedian said. It hasn’t helped matters that since the pandemic, Marvel movies have failed to get off to a hot start, with 2024’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” ($211 million) and 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($260 million) being exceptions.“So much of (the franchise) is readily available at home,” Loria said. “I don’t think ‘Fantastic Four’ plays into any of that. It’s a fresh, new experience, and I think audiences are responding to that.”
“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” should help lift the franchise after the box office disappointment of 20th Century Fox’s 2015 “Fantastic Four,” which grossed just $76.3 million domestically during its entire run, adjusted for inflation.Finishing No. 2 at the domestic weekend box office was Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Superman,” which grossed nearly $25 million. “Superman,” part of the revamped DC movie universe, has so far grossed $289.5 million since opening on July 11. Dergarabedian said that the success of this month’s two superhero films shows that “if that genre or category of film were to disappear, it’d be devastating for the industry.”
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Universal Pictures’ “Jurassic World Rebirth” came in third at the domestic box office, having grossed $13 million in its fourth week in theaters. It’s grossed $301.51 million domestically so far.
Robbins noted that there haven’t been major examples of a DC and Marvel movie playing in theaters at the same time. He added that casual comic book fans who may normally pick one movie to see could make an exception to see both films in theaters.
Loria cited a diverse slate of movies for continued moviegoing momentum. Aside from “Superman” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” Paramount Pictures’ comedy “The Naked Gun,” which opens Friday, will open to offer “a fresh, new genre.”
This month’s movie slate has lifted the box office 12.3% year-to-date compared to the same time last year, according to Comscore data.
And the box office could still reach $4 billion this summer, Dergarabedian said, which would mark the second post-pandemic summer box office to reach that level.
“‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ is going to fuel a very strong month of August. So what a great home stretch for the industry,” he said.
Marvel is breathing a little sigh of relief this weekend. The Fantastic Four has had a cinematic legacy that some might generously categorize as snakebit. From the shelved quickie Roger Corman version in 1994 to the critically derided but financially successful Tim Story launch in 2005 and its sequel up to Josh Trank’s extended first-act origin story that still ranks as one of the worst-reviewed wannabe blockbusters of all-time (Rotten at 9%). Now officially canonized into the MCU as a prologue to the return of Robert Downey Jr. as Doom, this one shows some Marvel Classic energy.
From the launch of The Avengers up until the pandemic, every one of Marvel’s films has grossed over $500 million globally, with nine of them hitting over a billion and two of those over two billion. Since then, seven of the last 13 MCU films have failed to reach half a billion. Three of those were released in 2021 in the heart of the pandemic, grossing between $379-$433 million each. The fact that both Brave New World and Thunderbolts* fit into that range five years later had to raise a few alarm bells.
Fantastic Four certainly benefits from name recognition, and the promise to not do them dirty and deliver the genuine family-like dynamic may just pay off. Critics are certainly on board, rewarding the film with a Certified Fresh badge of honor with a Tomatometer score that currently stands at 87%. That’s higher than the three
previous Fantastic Four films combined. However, the numbers that matter for Marvel have the dollar sign in front of them, and there may be some initial concerns that the film had quite the frontloaded weekend.First Steps made $57 million on Thursday and Friday versus $61 million estimated on Saturday and Sunday. The $28,606 per-theater average ranks 17th among MCU films, and all of them grossed over $300 million. In fact, every MCU film to open over $117 million has reached $300 million. Despite it representing roughly 48.3% of its final weekend, First Steps actually had the 14th-best Thursday/Friday of the lot. Thor: Love and Thunder also had 48.25% of its first weekend gross ($144.1 million) on Thursday/Friday, and even after falling 67.7% in its second weekend, it still legged out over $343 million through most of July and August.With a global total already over $21
8 million, Marvel should find itself back in the $500+ million camp worldwide. A reported $200+ million budget will want to see that number stretch a bit into Superman territory, but seeing how their forthcoming schedule leans to new Spider-Man and a return of the Fantastic Four to face Robert Victor Von Downey Doom Jr. in Avengers: Doomsday, 2026 should be a nice palate cleanser for many of their recent misfires.
James Gunn’s Superman had two weeks before Marvel entered the fray. IMAX theaters were surrendered and the expected drop of 50%+ rang true, as the film made $24.9 million in its third weekend. That puts its 17-day total at $289.5 million and right on the verge of passing Man of Steel’s (non-inflated) 2013 total of $291 million. How many more films will it pass? Right now, we’re talking a total gross just inside of the top 50 of all time for 17-day totals, at No. 49 ahead of Toy Story 3 ($289.1 million) and behind Furious 7 ($294.5 million). Superman’s spirit animal at the moment is actually Spider-Man, specifically Sam Raimi’s first sequel Spider-Man 2, which made $24.7 million in its third weekend to drive its total to $284.6 million. Staying on that path would put Superman in the $365-385 million path on the domestic side. That would be a nice little boost in helping the film potentially get to around $700 million worldwide, though it continues to look like a landing in the $650-700 million range. Its international gross this weekend was down to $19.8 million and now stands at $213.2 million, bringing its global haul over $502 million at the moment.
It took just 8 days for Jurassic World to reach $300 million. It was 14 for Fallen Kingdom and 17 for Dominion. Sunday is day 26 for Jurassic World Rebirth and it just reached the milestone. It made $13 million in its fourth weekend for a total of $301.5 million, but that is still a significant domestic slowdown for one of the most popular and profitable franchises ever. Yes the film is well into profit thanks to its global sales, but even those international dollars are shrinking, going from $1.018 billion in 2015 to $890.7 million in 2018 down to $625.1 million in 2022. Rebirth is currently at $416 million, putting its worldwide total at $718.4 million. Nothing for a Brachiosaurus to sneeze at, but Universal is still staring at a global decrease of around $200 million from the previous entry. At this rate, an eighth Jurassic film could be down to just $500 million total, maybe just enough to turn a profit. How many more trips to new islands are left in this series?
Five weekends. Five stays in the top five for F1: The Movie. Brad Pitt, Joseph Kosinski, Apple Films and Warner Bros.’ Formula One film made another $6.2 million, bringing its total to $165.5 million. That is still closely aligned with F9, which had $163.5 million after 31 days; this is going to end up around $180 million domestic. The highly-budgeted film just passed half a billion ($509+ million) globally, which, with very conservative optimism, would normally be enough to start waving the checkered flag. But some have the finish line as high as $600 million or even $750 million — numbers that seem unlikely by the time it leaves theaters.
Paramount’s pickup of Smurfs is not exactly working out in their favor. Each entry proved less successful than the last, and here we are in weekend two with the latest making $5.4 million, driving its total to only $22.7 million domestic. Even with international audiences doing their part with now $46.3 million, this does not appear to have the smurf to make the roughly $150 million smurfs it needs to get out of the red. Those who know their smurfs (and colors) know that blue plus red turns to purple, and once Papa gets bitten the Smurfs will be no more. Gnap.
Based on initial turnout, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is shaping up to be a needed win for Marvel Studios. The comic book empire, which has become Hollywood’s most reliable hit maker, has greatly struggled with commercial consistency over the past five years. The company has succeeded in post-pandemic times with entries led by familiar faces such as “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” But attempts to put the spotlight on newer characters were major financial missteps. This May’s well-reviewed “Thunderbolts*,” for example, ended its theatrical run with $382 million and stands as one of the lowest-grossing installments in Marvel’s 37-film franchise. After inundating viewers with too many interconnected films and television shows, Disney’s CEO Bob Iger has already said there’s a mandate for Marvel to do less at a higher caliber.
“The Fantastic Four” cost above $200 million to produce and needs to keep up the momentum to avoid the fate of other recent Marvel movies like February’s “Captain America: Brave New World” ($100 million debut over four days) and 2023’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” ($106 million) which collapsed after strong starts. However, those films were poorly reviewed. “First Steps” has the benefit of positive word-of-mouth, including an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and an encouraging “A-” grade on CinemaScore exit polls. Plus, there’s virtually no competition on the horizon in terms of all-audience tentpoles.
“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” got a boost from premium large formats, which delivered a massive 46% of ticket sales. Imax led the way with $16 million domestically or 13.6% of the initial haul, marking the second-highest marketshare ever for an MCU film. In terms of the audience breakdown, nearly 70% of opening weekend crowds identified as male, while 42% of all ticket buyers were under the age of 25.
Hollywood has attempted many times to bring The Fantastic Four — known colloquially as Marvel’s first family — to the big screen, but none struck the right chord with critics or audiences. The first efforts from 20th Century Fox (which owned the characters prior to the studio’s 2019 merger with Disney) were two decades ago with 2005’s “Fantastic Four” ($330 million) and its sequel 2007’s “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” ($301 million). Those films, starring Jessica Alba and Chris Evans, were financially successful but critically derided. Meanwhile, a widely panned 2015 reboot with Miles Teller, Kate Mara and Michael B. Jordan completely fizzled ($167 million globally) in theaters.
“‘Fantastic Four’ was a modest and struggling superhero series; it just caught up with the biggest and the best,” says analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.
“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” ranks as the year’s fourth-biggest domestic debut following “A Minecraft Movie” ($162 million), “Lilo & Stitch” ($146 million) and “Superman” ($125 million). “Fantastic Four” opened two weekends after fellow superhero tentpole “Superman,” which slid to second place with $24.9 million from 3,930 screens, a 57% decline from its prior outing. The Warner Bros. and DC Studios adaptation has generated $289.5 million domestically and $502.7 million globally.
“‘Fantastic Four’ and ‘Superman’ are performing extremely well,” Gross adds. “Superheroes are showing some swagger, and it’s good news for the industry.”
Third place on domestic box office charts went to Universal’s “Jurassic World Rebirth” with $13 million from 3,550 venues in its fourth frame. The dinosaur epic, which rebooted the long-running property with Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali, has grossed $301 million in North America and $718 million globally. Although these are strong ticket sales — it’s one of only three Hollywood releases to surpass $700 million this year — the latest “Jurassic” has to keep climbing to near the heights of the prior sequel trilogy, all of which grossed $1 billion globally.
Apple’s “F1: The Movie” impressively moved up to the No. 4 spot with $6.2 million in its fifth lap around the track. That’s a 37% decline from the previous weekend, bringing ticket sales to $165.6 million domestically and $509 million worldwide. It’s a very encouraging result for an original, adult-skewing property and ranks as . The racing drama, starring Brad Pitt, has a high bar to clear in terms of profitability because the studio spent $250 million to produce the film, not including its global marketing efforts.
Paramount’s animated musical “Smurfs” rounded out the top five with $5.4 million from 3,504 venues, a 50% drop from its disappointing $11 million debut. The family film has earned $22.7 million at the domestic box office and $46 million internationally for a worldwide tally of $69 million. “Smurfs” carries a $58 million price tag.
At No. 6, Sony’s slasher sequel “I Know What You Did Last Summer” added $5.1 million from 3,504 locations — tumbling by 60% from its opening weekend. The film has grossed $23.5 million domestically and $45.5 million globally. Sony spent a modest $18 million to produce the film, so it won’t take a ton of coinage to justify its budget.
Posted on 2025/07/28 02:28 PM