I've seen more exciting first dates at an airport bar.
Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps pulled in $118 million from North America and added another $100 million overseas for a $218M global launch. On paper, that's solid. But in the post-Endgame era, especially when you're dusting off Marvel's first family with a shiny new reboot, “solid” doesn't quite cut it. Especially when James Gunn's Superman opened stronger — $220M globally — and, more importantly, is still bringing in $25M weekends like it's on autopilot.
Let's be blunt: this was supposed to be a statement. Marvel's response to DC's creative resurgence under Gunn. Instead, it feels like a shrug.
Friday tracking looked promising. Optimistic even. But a 42% drop on Saturday suggests the film is front-loaded — the die-hards showed up early, and then the rest… didn't. Not in force, anyway. And this wasn't a weather problem or a marketing miss. This was a vibe problem. Families aren't exactly flocking to this one the way they did with Superman, which somehow managed to balance mythic grandeur with populist warmth. Marvel's new take? Slick, sure — but a bit cold around the edges.
CinemaScore's A- isn't bad. But it's not the kind of rating that converts casual interest into strong second-weekend legs. And speaking of legs: Superman now sits at $500M globally. Fantastic Four may be a long way from catching that, let alone crossing the $600M mark some were quietly projecting behind studio doors.
So why isn't this landing harder?
For one, superhero fatigue is real — and not just in the think pieces. It's in the data. The F4 reboot arrives after a long line of Phase 4/5 Marvel projects that ranged from underwhelming (Ant-Man 3) to downright forgettable (Secret Invasion). Even for fans, trust has eroded. Add to that the lingering memory of 2015's disastrous Fantastic Four, and audiences are approaching this IP with caution, if not outright cynicism.
Second, James Gunn knew what he was doing. Superman wasn't just a reboot — it was a reintroduction. Emotional clarity. Smart casting. A tone that nodded to Donner but felt rooted in today. Meanwhile, Fantastic Four: First Steps plays like Marvel's trying to find its own voice again. There's a clinical precision to it — beautifully shot, sure — but without the raw charm or thematic guts that could elevate it.
And no, this isn't about which studio has the bigger cape. It's about story instincts.
Compare the rest of the box office landscape, and you see a pattern.
Jurassic World Rebirth — now in its fourth weekend — pulled $13M, lifting its domestic total to $301M and global to $718M. It's no billion-dollar dino party like the franchise once enjoyed, but it has staying power. Audiences know what they're getting: spectacle, nostalgia, and dinosaurs. Not exactly a complicated sell.
Apple's F1: The Movie, with Brad Pitt behind the wheel and a $250M price tag, cruised to $6.2M this weekend. Modest? Sure. But with $165M domestic and $509M worldwide, it's officially Apple's highest-grossing film. Euro audiences, driven by the sport's global fanbase, are eating it up. The slow burn to $600M isn't off the table.
Then there's Eddington — A24's latest arthouse offering — collapsing nearly 70% to $1.7M. Harsh, but predictable. You can't bait cinephiles every weekend with foggy metaphors and minimalist dread. Not unless there's something real under the surface.
As for ‘Fantastic Four,' here's the hard truth:
Marvel made a safe movie. Not a bad one. Not a bold one. Just safe. In 2015, that might have worked. In 2025? It's background noise.
The Sunday numbers tell one story. The trajectory tells another. If this is Marvel's new cornerstone, they'll need to shore up the foundation fast. And frankly, that foundation isn't in the multiverse or variant-heavy spectacle. It's in emotional storytelling. The kind Gunn understood when he gave Clark Kent real human stakes — not just laser eyes and quippy sidekicks.
There's time for course correction. But first, Marvel has to admit this wasn't the splash it needed.
| Rank | Title | Domestic Weekend Gross | Domestic Total | Worldwide Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Fantastic Four: First Steps | $118 M | $118 M | $218 M |
| 2 | Superman (3rd Weekend) | $24.8–24.9 M | ~$289–290 M | ~$500–502 M |
| 3 | Jurassic World: Rebirth (wk 4) | $13 M | ~$301–302 M | ~$718 M |
| 4 | F1: The Movie | $6.2 M | ~$165 M | $509 M |
| 5 | Smurfs (wk 2) | $5.4 M | — | ~$69 M |
| 8 | Eddington | $1.7 M | — | — |
