'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' struggles in second weekend at box office
"The Fantastic Four: First Steps" grossed $40 million domestically in its second weekend of release, an unexpectedly sharp 66% decline in business from its opening weekend, according to estimates released by Comscore on Sunday, Aug. 3.
The drop is a potentially troubling sign for Marvel, suggesting the superhero blockbuster might not have much longevity at the box office and could be struggling to entice casual moviegoers.
"Fantastic Four" initially opened with a solid $117.6 million domestically, just a bit below the $125 million launch of DC's "Superman" two weeks prior. But "Superman" did not experience as large a decline in ticket sales after that debut. During its second weekend, the DC film only fell 53%.
The bigger dip for "Fantastic Four" was surprising given critics and audiences both gave positive marks to the superhero tentpole starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. Audiences polled by the research firm Cinemascore awarded "Fantastic Four" an A- grade, the same rating as "Superman," and the film holds an 86% approval rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
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But after years of releasing one superhero smash hit after another, Marvel has lately produced more inconsistent results at the box office. In between its rousing successes like last summer's "Deadpool & Wolverine," the studio has also endured several financial disappointments, including 2023's "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" and "The Marvels." Prior to "Fantastic Four," Marvel's other summer film, May's "Thunderbolts*," grossed a muted $190 million domestically.
In a recent conversation with reporters, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige argued that some of the studio's recent movies like "The Marvels" and "Thunderbolts*" suffered financially because audiences had not seen Marvel's Disney+ shows and were under the impression they were mandatory viewing.
"It's that expansion that I think led people to say, 'Do I have to see all of these? It used to be fun, but now do I have to know everything about all of these?'" Feige said, per The Hollywood Reporter. "And I think 'The Marvels' hit it hardest where people are like, 'OK, I recognize her from a billion-dollar movie. But who are those other two? I guess they were in some TV show. I'll skip it.'"
The good news for "Fantastic Four" is that the month of August is relatively light on new major event films, so the movie could benefit from a lack of competition in the coming weeks.
How did 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' compare to 'Superman' at the box office?
Marvel will next be seen in theaters in July 2026 with "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," which brings back a character that has been a reliable money maker for the studio. That will be followed by the franchise's next big event movie: "Avengers: Doomsday," which features the Fantastic Four returning alongside Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom.
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