Superman & Fantastic Four Both Beat Lord of the Rings at the Box Office This Week

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The pace at ticket sales has decreased for both “Superman” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” yet they are still generating income during their final weeks in cinemas. Over the last few weeks, these comic book adaptations have achieved significant landmarks. Notably, “Superman” climbed into Warner Bros.’ top 10 highest-grossing films, and “Fantastic Four” joined Disney’s top 50 all-time earners. To reach such accomplishments, they surpassed several popular blockbusters from Tinseltown’s history, with the superheroes now outperforming even those of Middle-earth.

Currently, Superman’s domestic earnings stand at approximately $347.8 million, surpassing The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ($345.5 million) and setting a new record. Simultaneously, The Fantastic Four: First Steps has earned around $258.7 million, surpassing The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug ($258.3 million). It’s important to note that none of these figures have been adjusted for inflation.

How Superman & Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ Box Office Runs Compare to Lord of the Rings

Over the past two decades, there have been significant changes, and an example is evident in the box office performance of “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.” Upon its release, it grossed $62 million domestically. Impressively, it lost only 21.2% of that amount in its second weekend, indicating strong initial appeal. Fueled by award buzz and positive audience word of mouth, “The Two Towers” maintained its popularity as a box office attraction for months, ranking in the top 10 domestically for eight consecutive weekends. Notably, to reach its total earnings of $345.5 million, the film required multiple releases; nearly all of this sum, $339.7 million, was earned during its initial run.

The 2013 reboot of Superman movie was a huge hit, earning $125 million in its opening weekend and surpassing box office expectations. It performed well for a summer blockbuster, but its drop in earnings during the second week (a 53.2% decrease) was significantly larger than that of The Two Towers. Unlike The Two Towers, which only made 18.2% of its total domestic earnings in its debut, Superman made over a third of its current earnings in just three days. The success of the Lord of the Rings films shows that releasing a blockbuster in December is advantageous because there’s less competition in January, allowing the movie to have more longevity if it performs well.

The Desolation of Smaug” started with a relatively small box office collection compared to today’s blockbuster standards, earning $73.6 million domestically upon release. Unlike its predecessor, “The Two Towers,” the reception for “The Desolation of Smaug” and the entire “Hobbit” series was more divided, which negatively impacted the movie’s performance in theaters. The film saw a significant drop of 57.2% in its second weekend and remained in the top 10 for just five weekends. Interestingly, it managed to perform better than “First Steps,” which infamously dropped by an even steeper 67.1% after a strong opening weekend. If “First Steps” hadn’t had such a big debut, the “Fantastic Four” movie might not have surpassed the earnings of “The Desolation of Smaug.

In contrast to what you might expect, both “The Two Towers” and “The Desolation of Smaug” have amassed an astonishing $900 million worldwide, with “The Desolation of Smaug” making slightly more at $958.3 million. These numbers eclipse the earnings of films like “Superman” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” by a significant margin. To put it into perspective, “Superman” is currently the only comic book film this year to reach $600 million, while “First Steps” hasn’t yet managed to hit $500 million. Interestingly, these fantasy films have primarily made their money from international markets. Despite the fact that the global earnings of Middle-earth’s films far surpass those of superheroes, it’s still remarkable to see how well “Superman” and “First Steps” are performing domestically.

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2025-08-28 19:19