Marvel Studios hasn't had its greatest year in 2025. There have certainly been a lot of ups, but it's also faced a disheartening number of downs. And that's particularly frustrating for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which experienced critical and commercial successes like Deadpool and Wolverine and Agatha All Along just last year. But that's the current Hollywood landscape for you!
The MCU has struggled to tell a consistent story like its Infinity Saga with the current Multiverse Saga. As a result of that, well-received titles like Thunderbolts* underperform at the box office as audiences get too familiar with the beloved franchise, particularly with its misfires like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. But there was hope that the positive critical reception to Thunderbolts* and the excitement for The Fantastic Four: First Steps would allow the latter to be the saving grace of 2025 for the MCU.
The box office performance of First Steps has been the subject of debate ever since Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby's Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn's Johnny Storm and Ebon Moss-Bach's Ben Grimm burst onto screens with their retro-futuristic tale. But was it actually a strong performer for Marvel? Let's discuss.
Fantastic Four had a strong opening weekend but a harsh second week drop
There were two defining moments in The Fantastic Four: First Steps' box office run. The first is its opening weekend, as the film premiered above expectations, bringing in $117.6 million on the domestic front for a global total of $218 million. After the franchise had struggled with Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*, this was the victory that the MCU needed this year. Expectations had been lowered from initial projections to allow for the recent lukewarm box office numbers the franchise had faced, but it defied all of them - becoming the MCU's highest-opening of the year and the best opening weekend for a Fantastic Four film ever.
Ticket sales remained strong throughout the first week, with expectations high for a strong second weekend due to positive word-of-mouth. However, the film suffered a similar fate to that of recent MCU releases in that the second weekend experienced an unexpectedly sharp drop, falling 66% to gross $40 million domestically. The international numbers and the general strong performance up that point cushioned the blow, but it definitely impacted the film's legs, putting more pressure on it to achieve bigger numbers further down the line (which was always going to be unlikely).
Recent Marvel movies have seen sharp drops in their second weekends that undercut strong openings. The biggest example of this is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which had the highest opening-weekend of any Ant-Man movie but ultimately ended up making less than any of them in the long run. Interestingly, Thunderbolts* avoided this problem, having just a 53% drop in its second weekend, which was a sign that the positive word-of-mouth was working for that one. Unfortunately its budget and marketing left it with a very high break-even point, which it just couldn't reach in its box office run.
But where does that leave The Fantastic Four: First Steps now that its box office run is coming to an end?
Like most Marvel movies, First Steps has a high break-even goal
Even with The Fantastic Four's strong opening performance, the film had a tough task ahead of it if it wanted to break even at the box office. The film cost north of $200 million to make and, when you factor in marketing expenses and other costs, it reportedly needed to make between $400 - $500 million at the box office to break even. The good news is that it has accomplished that, which officially takes it out of the "red" territory and places it in the "green". However, considering how long it took it to get there, it's just another indication that these Hollywood blockbusters need to look at how expensive they are to make.
With the exception of The Marvels, no MCU has outright flopped at the box office. Sure, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Eternals, Captain America: Brave New World, and Thunderbolts* did not reach their break even points during their theatrical releases, but they weren't epic box offic ebimbs either. Each one was relatively close to its break even point, which meant that merchandise sales, streaming performance, and home media sales would help the studio earn back any money it didn't achieve on those films' cinema releases.
There is a larger conversation going on in the industry as to whether these movies can be made without the need for such large budgets. Marvel has never had to face this problem (at least not since The Avengers helped the franchise cross the $1 billion mark for the first time), but with the rise in streaming, the studio's less mainstream appeal these days, and the ongoing conversation about "superhero fatigue", many feel that it needs to be wiser going forward. The franchise's flops made a lot of money, so clearly there is a demand for these properties, but if they are always going to underperform because of the insanely large break even points, maybe it's time to make a change.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps will turn a profit, ensuring that it isn't a a flop
Taking all of that into account, we're happy to report that The Fantastic Four: First Steps isn't a flop. The film has grossed over $510 million at the global box office thus far, meaning that it has surpassed its break-even point of $400 - $500 million. Of course, the hope is that the break even point was on the lower end of that range, meaning that it could have turned a profit of over $100 million by now, but if it was on the higher end, it may have only turned a small profit of around $15 - 30 million.
Yes, it should have performed better than that given the buzz surrounding the movie, the familiarity of Marvel's First Family, and the star-studded cast, but given the performance of recent Marvel movies, the lacklustre cinematic reputation of previous Fantastic Four movies, and the sheer level of competition at the box office in July (with fellow blockbuster releases Superman and Jurassic World Rebirth to contend with), it had a bit of an uphill battle to deal with.
But the good news is that, with First Steps, still in movie theaters, the movie will continue to make money for Marvel Studios - especially as there isn't currently any digital or Disney Plus release date in sight. And after the underperformances of Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*, this is the victory that Marvel needed.
With the Fantastic Four set to return in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, the hope is that more people will fall in love with them before their rumored sequel in Phase Seven of the MCU. That alone could guarantee a much stronger box office performance for that one if all goes to plan.
Nevertheless, the underpinning point here is that the Fantastic Four movie has made money and, given that all the MCU franchise has been through this year, that's a victory worth celebrating in and of itself.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now in theaters.