Topline
“The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” the newest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is shaping up to be one of Marvel’s best-reviewed and biggest hits in recent years after making $23 million in Thursday previews, a strong showing after the last “Fantastic Four” movie flopped.
"Fantastic Four" opens in theaters Friday. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” opens in theaters Friday after earning $23 million in Thursday previews, Deadline reported, marking Marvel’s best first-day gross since “Deadpool & Wolverine” in 2024.
Multiple outlets projected the movie would earn between $100 million and $110 million in its opening weekend, though Deadline said the movie’s strong first-day ticket sales indicate its weekend total is “bound to shoot higher.”
“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” doubled the first-day gross of Marvel’s last offering, “Thunderbolts*,” which opened in May and underperformed at the box office.
“Fantastic Four” is also one of Marvel’s best-reviewed movies in years, earning a strong 89% score on Rotten Tomatoes, as some critics have called the movie a return to form for the comic book film studio.
“Fantastic Four” stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the titular group of superheroes, and Matt Shakman, known for the Marvel series “WandaVision,” directed the project.
The two superhero movies appear to be off to a similar start at the box office, though “Fantastic Four” has an early edge based on Thursday previews. A first-day total of $23 million for “Fantastic Four” is slightly more than the $22.5 million “Superman” made on its first day, though it’s not yet clear which movie will have the better opening weekend. “Superman” made $125 million in its opening weekend two weeks ago, which was the third-best opening weekend of 2025 after “A Minecraft Movie” and “Lilo & Stitch.” “Superman” has grossed $432 million worldwide to date. At a press conference last weekend, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige pointed to the success of “Superman” to say audiences are not suffering from “superhero fatigue,” suggesting the shaky performance of some superhero movies in recent years is because of too much supply, not because of diminishing demand.
“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is a reboot of the “Fantastic Four” film franchise and the first movie in “Phase Six” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The new “Fantastic Four” movie is off to a much better start than the last movie in the franchise, “Fantastic Four” (2015). The film was a box office flop, grossing $167 million worldwide on a $120 million budget, and it was critically reviled, earning just a 9% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Production of the 2015 “Fantastic Four” movie was reportedly tense, with studio executives mandating reshoots and director Josh Trank criticizing the final product. The new “Fantastic Four” also follows years of struggle for Marvel, which once reliably released back-to-back hits. Though “Deadpool & Wolverine” surpassed $1.3 billion at the box office last year, Marvel has released a handful of critical and box office flops in recent years, like “The Marvels,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “Eternals.”
After “Fantastic Four,” Marvel is taking a year off—the next Marvel movie, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” won’t hit theaters until July 2026, followed by “Avengers: Doomsday” in December 2026. After “Avengers: Secret Wars” in 2027, Feige said Marvel will start recasting some iconic roles, like Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, but stopped short of calling the new direction a “reboot.”
‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Fires Up Thursday Night With Around $23M In Previews – Box Office (Deadline)