Katarzyna Petru
Hardly had the MCU gathered itself after a few financial blows when “Fantastic Four: First Steps” hit the cinemas. A title meant to be a fresh start for the Marvel family begins strongly — but not as strong as expected. A debut of 118 million dollars is solid but chasing James Gunn’s “Superman,” which launched two weeks earlier with 125 million. The competition is on, but it's already clear who’s running with more momentum.
Marvel is on the attack, but not taking the lead
“First Steps” was supposed to be the title that would restore audience trust in Marvel and refresh the tired formula of the MCU. So far, it's been a mixed bag: a good result, but not spectacular. Despite a large campaign and the catchy concept of “starting anew, while respecting the classics,” the film didn’t exceed expectations. Particularly since on Friday it earned $57 million, and then it was only downhill from there — Saturday $33.2 million, Sunday $27.8 million. A typical front-load.
Box Office Weekend Table:
Title | Revenue (3 days) | Total (USA) |
|---|---|---|
The Fantastic Four: First Steps | $118 million | $118 million (week 1) |
Superman | $24.8 million | $289.5 million (week 3) |
Jurassic World: Rebirth | $13 million | $301.5 million (week 4) |
F1 | $6.2 million | $165.6 million (week 5) |
The Smurfs | $5.4 million | $22.7 million (week 2) |
Interestingly, "The Fantastic Four" has knocked "I Know What You Did Last Summer" out of the rankings, which has experienced a decline of 60% for the second weekend in a row. Family and superhero films have once again taken over the market, albeit with a lack of excitement in the second tier. Pixar's "Elio" has already dropped off the list, "How to Train Your Dragon" is trailing behind, and Asta's "Eddington" recorded a 62% decline.
Superhero fatigue? Maybe, but not just yet
With a total of about 200 million $ for the entire weekend and 150 million $ solely for superhero films, one thing is clear: despite the ongoing chatter about audience fatigue, the genre is still holding strong. The thing is… more and more often, it's only the biggest brands that reach profitability. "The Smurfs," with a budget of 58 million $, only gathered 22.7 million $ in the USA. "Eddington," despite ambitious direction, didn't even reach 10 million $.
MCU is waking up, but the result is not yet redemption
Interestingly, “First Steps” surpasses “Thunderbolts*” (74 million $) and “Captain America: Brave New World” (89 million $), but ties with “Guardians Vol. 3” (118 million $). Among the post-COVID MCU hits, only:
Deadpool & Wolverine – 211 million $
Wakanda Forever – 181 million $
Doctor Strange 2 – 187 million $
Thor: Love and Thunder – 144 million $
No Way Home – 260 million $
The difference? “First Steps” is the only film that is not a sequel. This says a lot about how much fans were waiting for a new slate — but also how difficult it is to build one today.
The second week will be crucial
With a CinemaScore rating of A– and fairly decent reviews (“it lacks magic, but it’s good fun” – wrote Molly Freeman from ScreenRant), “First Steps” could still fight a chance. But everything will hinge on the second week. If it manages to drop below a -51% decline (like “Superman”), that will be a success. If not – we’ll be back to pondering whether Marvel still knows how to make cinema.
For now? It’s turned out quite well. But we’ve heard that too many times before.
