'Fantastic Four: First Steps' Takes Strides Into Summer With $118M Opening

by Wayne Friedman , Yesterday

A resurgent summer movie business keeps going strong as Walt Disney/Marvel Studios’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” stepped on the gas with a $118 million three-day opening in North American box-office revenue, according to IMDb's Box Office Mojo.

Year-to-date domestic theatrical revenue is now up 12.4% versus a year ago to $5.02 billion -- but still down 8.4% from 2023.

This summer, in-theater revenue season-to-date is at $2.7 billion -- still below the same pre-pandemic 2019 period, when it totaled $3.3 billion season-to-date.

This year’s season-to-date summer numbers are at $2.7 billion.

Since the pandemic, there are far less summer domestic releases so far - now at 194, versus 323 in 2019 season-to-date (through July 27). This means releases starting before or after the first Friday in May (the start of the summer period). For the entire summer 2019 period (May through Labor Day weekend), there were 403 film releases in theaters.

Globally, “Fantastic Four: First Steps” pulled in $218 million -- on par with Warner Bros.'/DC Comics’ “Superman” and its worldwide take of $220 million.

Disney placed a modest national TV advertising campaign -- estimated to be $16.9 million so far, according to EDO Ad EnGage, with a major part of this campaign was nine airings during Walt Disney/ ABC’s “2025 NBA Finals” -- totaling $4.8 million in media value/advertising.

Behind “Fantastic” on the most recent weekend was Warner Bros.'/DC’s “Superman” (24.9 million in its second week), followed by Universal’s “Jurassic World: Rebirth” ($13 million, in its fourth week); Apple Original Films’ “F1: The Movie” ($6.2 million, in its fifth week); Paramount Pictures’ “Smurfs” ($5.4 million, in its second week); and Sony Pictures’ “I Know What You Did Last Summer” ($12.8 million, in its second week).

ad campaign, advertising, disney, movies, revenue, television

2 comments about "'Fantastic Four: First Steps' Takes Strides Into Summer With $118M Opening".

Check to receive email when comments are posted.

Thomas Siebert from BENEVOLENT PROPAGANDA, July 28, 2025 at 9:38 a.m.
Disney Marvel's FANTASTIC FOUR tries really hard and does a lot right, including Oscar-worthy Art Direction, but lacks action in the first two acts, has zero character develoment & is fatally miscast in key Reed Richards and even bigger female Silver Surfer failures. It is inferior to James Gunn's better cast, TikTok-paced, action-packed SUPERMAN.

WoM among filmgoers is meh, as evidenced by massive [-42%] Friday-to-Saturday dropoff, and theater owners on Reddit & other forums are already claiming $118 is too high due to further Sunday trajectory downwards, more like $115-116 million, which has been the norm for Disney Marvel films post-Covid. There is also Superhero & overexposed Pedro Pascal fatigue to contend with, with the former likely hampering both films somewhat, especially overseas.

My general guess would be SUPERMAN ends up around $660 million worldwide, FANTASTIC FOUR around $500 million worldwide. Both mild disappointments, but it leaves WarnerBros/DC Films nevertheless with the upper-hand and on the upswing, while Disney Marvel's stumbles continue towards AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY, shaping up as the most expensive film ever made yet currently shooting without a completed script nor several of its key characters' actors signed to contract. Bold, aggressive move; Time Will Tell how it works out for them.
Reply

Artie White from Zoom Media Corp replied, July 28, 2025 at 11:29 a.m.

There was no "mis-casting" unless you're deeply stuck in the culture war swamp.