‘Fantastic Four' Starts With Strong Steps at the Box Office

The latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe launched very well, with critical praise and favorable notices from audiences who went to see it.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing in 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios' 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps'. Photo by Jay Maidment. © 2025 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2025 Marvel.

Preview:

‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ launched to $118 at the domestic box office.
It notched the fourth-biggest box office launch so far this year.
Yet its initial figure was behind ‘Superman’s.

In the battle of the 2025 superhero blockbusters, it appears the Man of Steel is still the strongest. Still, despite opening slightly lower than James Gunn’s DC Studios launch, the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe still got off to a strong start.

‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’, which finally brings Marvel’s “First Family” into the MCU, made $118 million in its first weekend.

The Fantastic 4: First Steps

"Welcome to the family."

PG-131 hr 55 minJul 25th, 2025

Showtimes & Tickets

Against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel's First Family is forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their... Read the Plot

That’s a little behind ‘Superman’s $120 million opening, but more than enough to be celebrated as a success for Marvel following the underperformance of ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ and ‘Thunderbolts*’.

How did ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ perform internationally?

(L to R) Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing and Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic in 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios' 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps'. Photo by Jay Maidment. © 2025 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2025 Marvel.

This latest Marvel effort stretched to $218M global opening, with $100 million from international markets..

The overseas debut is 13% ahead of ‘Thunderbolts*’, 11% ahead of ‘Superman’ and 4% above ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ and more importantly, ahead of projections.

For its part, ‘Superman’ has now topped the half-billion milestone, now at $502.7M worldwide, including $213.2M from international.

Now we’ll have to see how ‘Fantastic Four’ performs going forward. In its favor, it only really has ‘Superman’ as direct competition in terms of genre and audience for a few weeks.

What else happened at the box office this weekend?

David Corenswet as Superman in DC Studios’ and Warner Bros. Pictures’ 'Superman', a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Jessica Miglio. Copyright: © 2025 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved. TM & © DC.

‘Superman’ slipped to second place after two weeks at the top –– earning $24.9 million from 3,930 screens, a 57% decline from last weekend. The movie has generated $289.5 million domestically and $502.7 million globally.
Third place went to ‘Jurassic World Rebirth,’ which made $13 million from 3,550 venues in its fourth weekend.

The dinosaur outing has grossed $301 million in North America and $718 million globally, which is impressive, but still behind the other ‘Jurassic World’ franchise entries, which all crossed the $1 billion mark.

Fourth past the post was ‘F1', the Brad Pitt-starring racing movie set in the world of Formula One.

Brad Pitt as Sonny Hayes in Apple Original Films’ 'F1', a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Photo by Scott Garfield. Courtesy Warner Bros Pictures / Apple Original Films. Copyright: © 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

It took $6.2 million in its fifth lap around the track. That’s a 37% decline from the previous weekend, bringing ticket sales to $165.6 million domestically and $509 million worldwide. Decent, but it carries a hefty $250 million plus budget and anyway, backers Apple are not so worried about theatrical returns as other companies.

Finally, Paramount’s animated musical ‘Smurfs’ rounded out the top five with $5.4 million from 3,504 venues, a 50% drop from its disappointing $11 million debut.

So far, the family film has earned $22.7 million at the domestic box office and $46 million internationally for a worldwide tally of $69 million. Not great!

What’s next for the MCU?

Up next for Marvel is animated Disney+ series ‘Eyes of Wakanda’, spun off from the ‘Black Panther’ movies, and ‘Wonder Man’, starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

In terms of movies, ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ will be out in July next year, followed by giant team-up effort ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ due the following December.