The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Box Office Drop Is Not the Disaster It Might Seem

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The word-of-mouth about “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” has been remarkably unexpected, particularly in recent times. Initially, the movie garnered positive reviews from critics and had one of the most substantial opening weekends of 2025. However, the excitement surrounding the film significantly changed after its second weekend in theaters. Although it’s only been ten days since release, certain corners of the internet have labeled the film a flop due to a steeper-than-anticipated decline at the box office. After earning $117 million during its domestic opening weekend, the movie saw a disappointing drop to $38 million in its second weekend. This is surprising considering that “Superman” managed to maintain a steady $58 million after a $125 million opening weekend, leaving many wondering why “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” didn’t follow suit in replicating its success.

Despite a significant 67% decrease in its box office earnings during its second weekend, the film The Fantastic Four: First Steps still ranks among the top-earning movies domestically in 2025. Although the decline in revenue wasn’t ideal, it’s important to note that the movie’s performance has been far from the catastrophic failure some have suggested.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Is Still Performing Well at the Box Office

Regarding the ongoing discussions online, it’s important to note that the movie “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” has been performing strongly at the box office. With an initial budget of approximately $200 million, the film managed to gross $215 million globally during its opening weekend, which is a promising start for the studio. Although it experienced a larger-than-anticipated drop in its second weekend, its current worldwide total stands at around $370 million.

According to industry standards, a movie needs to earn at least twice or thrice its production budget to cover all expenses, including marketing costs, to break even. At the moment, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is expected to generate revenue between $520-570 million, suggesting that it’s on track to make a modest profit. In simpler terms, the film appears set to turn a small profit.

In 2025, the new film is earning more domestically than any other films released at that time. Domestically, it has already surpassed “Captain America: Brave New World” and “Thunderbolts”, the other two Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films launched this year. Globally, its gross is nearly catching up with both films, which made $415 million and $382 million respectively. Except for “Deadpool” and “Wolverine”, it’s on track to become the highest-grossing MCU film since “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”. This would be a significant achievement for the studio.

First Steps” continues to lose audience quickly, it might not catch up to these two films, but even being the seventh highest-grossing movie domestically is a significant accomplishment.

A Box-Office Drop is Normal For Marvel Movies

Although The Fantastic Four: First Steps wasn’t anticipating a drop of such magnitude, this isn’t entirely unusual for Marvel productions. For instance, Captain America: Brave New World experienced a significant 68% decline in its second weekend, even without any direct competition. In contrast, The Fantastic Four: First Steps faced off against Superman and Jurassic World Rebirth, two of the year’s highest-grossing films that have demonstrated strong box office performance. Given the intense competition, it’s noteworthy that The Fantastic Four: First Steps didn’t perform worse than expected in both its opening and second weekend.

As a movie enthusiast, I must say that it’s quite typical for Marvel movies to experience a significant decline in their box office earnings during the second weekend, often ranging between 50-70%. Even blockbusters like “Thunderbolts” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” manage to maintain this range, with occasional exceptions surpassing 60%.

Movies such as “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” are no exception, with drops of 63% and 67%, respectively. Even the record-breaking “Spider-Man: No Way Home” saw a 67% decline in its second weekend.

It’s important to note that even with such substantial drops, these movies are far from being deemed flops. In fact, they’re usually still raking in impressive earnings.

Now, when it comes to “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” expecting a different trajectory might seem a bit unusual given the trend we’ve seen with other high-grossing Marvel movies that open with over $100 million. After all, these second weekend drops are quite common among blockbusters.

First Steps” might currently be close to covering its production and box office costs, but it still has several weeks or even months to earn significantly more. It’s premature to declare the film a failure as the final earnings have not been determined yet. Unless the movie’s earnings drop by 60% every week, the claims of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” being a flop are not justified.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now playing in theaters.

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2025-08-07 16:55