37 movies into the MCU, Marvel boss Kevin Feige says Fantastic Four is their "first standalone" film: "There's no homework required"
We may be nearly 20 years into the MCU, but Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has called The Fantastic Four: First Steps the franchise's "first standalone" movie and said audiences don't need to do any "homework" before watching it.
"It's all new," Feige said during a recent press conference. "It's new characters in a new world to our universe. It's our 37th MCU film and yet, really, the first standalone that we've done, setting up its own new, established universe. And we had a refrain that Matt [Shakman, director] would often use: there's no homework required.
"Everything you need to know about the Fantastic Four you learn in the first 10 minutes of this movie, which is, they're family, and they're humans and they're emotional and they have flaws, and they love each other and they want to help."
Our writer recently argued that Fantastic Four gives Marvel a chance to wipe the slate clean and combat superhero fatigue, and it seems like the movie will do just that.
The first installment in Marvel Phase 6 sees Marvel's First Family join the MCU for the first time. Pedro Pascal will play Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, alongside Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/the Thing.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in UK cinemas on July 24 and US theaters on July 25. In the meantime, fill out your watchlist with the other upcoming Marvel movies and shows, or get up to speed with our guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order.
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Chicago Tribune
22 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' holds its lead atop the box office
LOS ANGELES — Marvel's first family stumbled in theaters in its second weekend, but still held on to the top spot at the box office. 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' earned $40 million from 4,125 North American theaters, a 66% drop from a healthy $117.6 million debut. The film was accompanied by comedies 'The Bad Guys 2' and 'The Naked Gun' in the top three box office rankings. The superhero movie dipped significantly more than Marvel's previous film, 'Thunderbolts,' which took a 55% dive in its second weekend. 'First Steps' is the last major blockbuster of the summer. It added nearly $40 million internationally in its second weekend, bringing thefilm's global total to $369 million. The movie's box office drop off was surprising given its strong reviews, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for the data firm Comscore. Though the movie's debut weekend may have given box office results a strong push toward the $4 billion summer benchmark, August is off to a slow start, he said. 'It's a tough lift, but we might be able to get there. It really means that all the films are gonna have to stand on their own,' Dergarabedian said. 'It's gonna be about getting great reviews, having that staying power, that longevity in the marketplace.' Newcomer comedy 'The Bad Guys 2' earned second place at the box office this weekend, with $22 million from 3,852 North American theaters. That was on par with projections and also in line with the first movie in the series, which brought in $23 million in 2022. Paramount's slapstick comedy, 'The Naked Gun,' also in its debut weekend, snagged the third box office spot, earning $17 million from 3,344 locations. Jim Orr, president of domestic distribution for Universal Pictures, said the solid debut for 'The Bad Guys 2,' coupled with strong audience reaction scores, 'should point to a very long, very successful run through not only the rest of the summer, but really, I think into the fall.' James Gunn's 'Superman,' which opened four weekends ago and already crossed $550 million globally, earned $13.8 million domestically this weekend, taking the fourth spot. 'Jurassic World Rebirth' followed with $8.7 million. The horror movie 'Together' had a strong debut weekend, coming in at sixth place and earning $6.8 million domestically, proof that August is a month for edgier and off-beat films, Dergarabedian said. 'That's what this month is about. It's not just about box office,' Dergarabedian said. 'It's also about providing really interesting, rewarding movie-going experiences for audiences.' Dergarabedian said he expects highly-anticipated movies hitting theaters in the next few weeks — including 'Freakier Friday,' and Zach Cregger's horror movie 'Weapons' — to give August a needed boost. The box office is currently up 9.5% from last year. With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore: 1. 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps,' $40 million. 2. 'The Bad Guys 2,' $22.2 million. 3. 'The Naked Gun,' $17 million. 4. 'Superman,' $13.8 million. 5. 'Jurassic World Rebirth,' $8.7 million. 6. 'Together,' $6.8 million. 7. 'F1: The Movie,' $4.1 million. 8. 'I Know What You Did Last Summer,' $2.7 million. 9. 'Smurfs,' $1.8 million. 10. 'How to Train Your Dragon,' $1.4 million.
Forbes
23 minutes ago
- Forbes
‘Superman' Is About To Break A 17-Year-Old DC Curse
Box office hounds are currently looking at the horse race between Superman and Fantastic Four, the former of which will apparently top the latter unless some dramatic shift takes place in the imminent future. It's not just a 'win' for DC and the new DCU, it's something that goes well beyond that. If this happens with Superman, and it's almost certain it's about to, this will be the first time a DC movie was the highest-grossing comic book movie of a given year since 2008. Can you guess what that was? Yep, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. Of course, 2008 was also when the MCU began with Iron Man. The DCEU did not kick off until 2013 with Man of Steel, but in that five year gap there was nothing that topped Marvel (even The Dark Knight Rises), and even the biggest DCEU movie, Aquaman, did not beat out Marvel's big entry that year, Avengers: Infinity War (of course it didn't). What's the full list? I think it's interesting to take a look at. I'm going to start at 2006 just to give a frame of reference (the previous two years were Marvel too, naturally): Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, this trend is unlikely to continue. If it hits its release date, the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day is likely to crush Supergirl at the box office. After that, there are two Avengers movies that could go up against The Batman Part II one of those years, but I don't think that would beat either. Still, this is a significant achievement for Superman and DC. One that may not happen all that often from here, but with Marvel's relative declines, who knows, it may start occurring more and more. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
"The Fantastic Four: First Steps" holds its lead atop the box office
Film Review - The Fantastic Four: First Steps LOS ANGELES (AP) — Marvel's first family stumbled in theaters in its second weekend, but still held on to the top spot at the box office. 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' earned $40 million from 4,125 North American theaters, a 66% drop from a healthy $117.6 million debut. The film was accompanied by comedies 'The Bad Guys 2' and 'The Naked Gun" in the top three box office rankings. The superhero movie dipped significantly more than Marvel's previous film, 'Thunderbolts,' which took a 55% dive in its second weekend. 'First Steps' is the last major blockbuster of the summer. It added nearly $40 million internationally in its second weekend, bringing thefilm's global total to $369 million. The movie's box office drop off was surprising given its strong reviews, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for the data firm Comscore. Though the movie's debut weekend may have given box office results a strong push toward the $4 billion summer benchmark, August is off to a slow start, he said. 'It's a tough lift, but we might be able to get there. It really means that all the films are gonna have to stand on their own,' Dergarabedian said. 'It's gonna be about getting great reviews, having that staying power, that longevity in the marketplace.' Newcomer comedy 'The Bad Guys 2' earned second place at the box office this weekend, with $22 million from 3,852 North American theaters. That was on par with projections and also in line with the first movie in the series, which brought in $23 million in 2022. Paramount's slapstick comedy, 'The Naked Gun,' also in its debut weekend, snagged the third box office spot, earning $17 million from 3,344 locations. Jim Orr, president of domestic distribution for Universal Pictures, said the solid debut for 'The Bad Guys 2,' coupled with strong audience reaction scores, 'should point to a very long, very successful run through not only the rest of the summer, but really, I think into the fall." James Gunn's 'Superman,' which opened four weekends ago and already crossed $550 million globally, earned $13.8 million domestically this weekend, taking the fourth spot. 'Jurassic World Rebirth' followed with $8.7 million. The horror movie 'Together' had a strong debut weekend, coming in at sixth place and earning $6.8 million domestically, proof that August is a month for edgier and off-beat films, Dergarabedian said. 'That's what this month is about. It's not just about box office," Dergarabedian said. "It's also about providing really interesting, rewarding movie-going experiences for audiences.' Dergarabedian said he expects highly-anticipated movies hitting theaters in the next few weeks — including 'Freakier Friday,' and Zach Cregger's horror movie 'Weapons' — to give August a needed boost. The box office is currently up 9.5% from last year. Top 10 movies by domestic box office With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore: 1. 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps," $40 million. 2. 'The Bad Guys 2,' $22.2 million. 3. 'The Naked Gun,' $17 million. 4. 'Superman,' $13.8 million. 5. 'Jurassic World Rebirth,' $8.7 million. 6. 'Together,' $6.8 million. 7. 'F1: The Movie,' $4.1 million. 8. 'I Know What You Did Last Summer,' $2.7 million. 9. 'Smurfs,' $1.8 million. 10. 'How to Train Your Dragon,' $1.4 million. Solve the daily Crossword
