'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 per cent 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 the film'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 per cent 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.
Itzel Luna, The Associated Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
21 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Paramount and Skydance close their $8 billion merger, kicking off reign of new entertainment giant
NEW YORK (AP) — Skydance and Paramount officially closed their $8 billion merger on Thursday — kicking off the reign of a new entertainment giant after a contentious, over year-long endeavor to get the transaction over the finish line. The new company — which will trade under the 'PSKY' ticker on Wall Street — brings Paramount's legacy Hollywood footprint, major TV networks like CBS and MTV, streaming services and more under the roof of a new power player: billionaire Skydance founder David Ellison. 'Today marks an exciting and pivotal moment as we prepare to bring Paramount's legacy as a Hollywood institution into the future of entertainment," Ellison, who is now Chairman and CEO of Paramount, a Skydance Corporation, said in a statement. He added that he aims to 'honor exceptional storytelling while modernizing how we make and deliver content." The merger's close came just two weeks after it received regulatory approval from the Trump administration. While now a done deal, the path towards that approval was far from smooth sailing. Months of scrutiny and turmoil surrounded the transaction — particularly amid President Donald Trump's legal battle with '60 Minutes,' the crown jewel of Paramount-owned broadcast network CBS. With the specter of the Trump administration potentially blocking the hard-fought deal with Skydance, Paramount agreed to pay a $16 million settlement to the president in early July. Critics of the settlement lambasted it as a veiled bribe to appease Trump, amid rising alarm over editorial independence overall. Further outrage also emerged after CBS said it was canceling Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' just days after the comedian sharply criticized the parent company's settlement on air. Paramount cited financial reasons, but big names both within and outside the company have questioned those motives. When still seeking approval to buy Paramount from the Federal Communication Commission, Skydance management assured regulators that it would carefully watch for any perceived bias at CBS News and hire an ombudsman to review any complaints about fairness. In filings just last month, the company's general counsel maintained that New Paramount will embody 'a diversity of viewpoints across the political and ideological spectrum' — and also noted that it plans to take a 'comprehensive review' of CBS to make 'any necessary changes.' By the time the deal was approved, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr hailed the merger as an opportunity to bring more balance to 'once-storied' CBS. 'Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly. It is time for a change," Carr said. Carr also pointed to other commitments from Skydance — including company assurances about ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at Paramount. In a letter addressed to Carr days before the FCC's greenlight, Skydance wrote to 'confirm the elimination' of DEI initiatives previously in place at Paramount — and maintained that Skydance 'does not have DEI programs in place today and will not establish such initiatives.' Skydance pointed to the Supreme Court's 2023 decision on affirmative action in college admissions, but such moves also arrive amid the Trump administration's wider crackdown on DEI in the workplace — and the company cited recent federal mandates impacting employers, too, noting that Paramount announced 'significant changes' to its recruiting and hiring practices in February 2025. The FCC approved the merger by a 2-1 vote on July 24. The regulator who opposed it, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, expressed disdain for how it all came together — pointing to 'months of cowardly capitulation to this administration.' 'In an unprecedented move, this once-independent FCC used its vast power to pressure Paramount to broker a private legal settlement and further erode press freedom,' Gomez, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, said in a statement. She also said the agency overstepped its authority by 'undermining legitimate efforts to combat discrimination and expand opportunity.' Paramount's new leaders will be watched particularly closely for how they deal with CBS News, given the $16 million settlement with Trump following his complaint about last fall's '60 Minutes' interview with his Democratic opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris. And the merger could also have ripple effects across other Paramount properties, including its late night and comedy programming. When first announcing the deal in July 2024, Ellison also stressed the need to transition into a 'tech hybrid' to stay competitive in today's entertainment landscape. That included plans to 'rebuild' the Paramount+ streaming service, among wider efforts to expand direct-to-consumer offerings in a world with more entertainment options and shorter attention spans.
National Post
21 minutes ago
- National Post
WWE champion reveals she suffered broken cheekbone in real-life street fight early in career
Tiffany Stratton may be a WWE champion now, but early in her career she was on the receiving end of a vicious beatdown outside of the of the ring. Article content In fact, the rising superstar suffered a shocking injury during the real-life confrontation — which she admitted to starting. Article content Stratton shared the story during an appearance on Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast this week, leaving the host shocked at the extent of the damage she suffered. Article content The blond bruiser, now 26 years old, said the incident took place while she was still working in WWE's developmental brand and went down in the parking complex where she lived. Article content 'After one of my (NXT) matches, I cut somebody off from my parking garage and they were like yelling at me from their car,' she said. Article content View this post on Instagram A post shared by IMPAULSIVE with Logan Paul (@impaulsiveshow) Article content Article content 'So I pulled over … and they pull over and a guy gets out of the car. So I get out of the car. We are talking s***, talking s***, then his girlfriend gets out of the car. Yeah, two on one. Article content Article content 'I start talking s*** with the girlfriend, I push her, she pushes me back. We start f***ing brawling. And then she takes her long ass nails, gets them in my braid and gets me down on the ground.' Article content That was when things got really nasty, she said, with the man getting involved in the scrap. Article content 'This is where it takes a turn. The guy just f***ing stomps on my face. I broke a facebone — nobody knows this, you're welcome. And that's why I was out for so long in NXT.' Article content View this post on Instagram A post shared by TIFFANY STRATTON (@tiffanywwe)
CBC
22 minutes ago
- CBC
Freakier Friday director on working with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan
Canadian director Nisha Ganatra speaks to CBC News about working with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan on the long-awaited sequel, calling it a beautiful, beautiful circle.
