Marvel Studios’ “Fantastic Four: First Steps” has returned Disney to the “feast” part of what has been a feast-or-famine 2025 for it at the box office, earning $118 million domestic and $100 million worldwide for a $218 million global box office start.
That result is just short of the $220 million global start of Warner Bros.’ DC July release “Superman,” with stronger grosses in Europe and Mexico making up for a dip in Saturday domestic grosses to $33 million.
Still, in a sign of the challenges both Marvel and DC will face getting audiences interested in new incarnations of superheroes, this launch is below the $289 million start of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2023, which opened to a similar $118 million domestic start.
Now we will see how “Fantastic Four,” which like “Superman” does not have any connections to previous superhero films or TV shows, will be able to bring back casual moviegoers who no longer show up to everything the Marvel Cinematic Universe has to offer. Reception has been strong with an 88% critics and 93% Rotten Tomatoes score, going with an A- on CinemaScore.
Two months ago, Marvel’s “Thunderbolts*” was well received by those who turned out for its $74.3 million domestic opening weekend, but only earned a relatively low 2.55x multiple and a $190 million domestic final cume.
A similar multiple for “Fantastic Four” would equate to a $300 million run, though Disney is hoping for more in an August with more demo-tailored films such as Universal/DreamWorks’ “The Bad Guys 2” and Paramount’s “The Naked Gun,” both of which open next weekend.
“Superman” takes second this weekend, holding respectably in the face of losing premium format screens to “Fantastic Four” with $24.9 million in its third weekend and a 57% drop. That’s enough to bring the DC film past the $500 million global mark, with $289 million domestic and $502 million worldwide.
That’s not the only holdover milestone crossed this week. Universal/Amblin’s “Jurassic World Rebirth” passed $300 million domestic and $700 million worldwide. The film earned $13 million domestically in its fifth weekend for a total of $301.5 million domestic and $718 million worldwide.
Then there is Warner/Apple’s “F1,” which like “Superman” crossed $500 million worldwide with $6.2 million domestic in its fifth weekend. While grossed a solid but not exceptional $165 million in North America, the popularity of the global racing circuit internationally has lifted it to a $344 million overseas total.
In a tight race for the last spot in the top 5 are last weekend’s new releases, Paramount’s “The Smurfs” and Sony’s “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” with “Smurfs” having the edge with a $5.4 million second weekend. With $22 million domestic and $69 million worldwide, this $58 million film is scrambling to recoup its losses theatrically enough that it might be able to turn a profit from ancillary and post-theatrical revenue.
“I Know What You Did Last Summer” made $5.1 million in its second weekend for a $23.5 million domestic total for a $45 million global total against a reported $18 million budget. Meanwhile, another Sony horror release, “28 Years Later,” has crossed $150 million worldwide as the studio prepares to release its follow-up, “The Bone Temple,” in theaters this January.
More to come…
