There was a time when the Marvel Cinematic Universe was the undisputed king of the box office. The superhero giant took risks left and right by greenlighting movies starring characters with which general audiences were unfamiliar. Most of those projects, such as Guardians of the Galaxy, were released to critical acclaim and quickly became classics within the superhero genre. Even when some films failed to resonate with audiences (such as Eternals), they still managed to turn a profit. However, things have been different as of late.
Make no mistake, Deadpool & Wolverine proved that the MCU is still capable of producing high-quality movies that gross over a billion dollars. Unfortunately, 2025 hasn't brought the same level of success. Marvel has released all three movies it had scheduled for the year, and while most of them were praised by fans and critics alike, only one has managed to surpass a significant milestone when it comes to commercial reception.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps just grossed over $500 million at the box office
As of September 4, 2025, The Fantastic Four: First Steps has grossed $508 million at the worldwide box office. It's the first Marvel movie to cross the $500 million milestone this year, as Captain America: Brave New World grossed $415 million, and Thunderbolts* ended its theatrical run with $382 million.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps had an estimated production budget of over $200 million. Accounting for marketing expenses, its break-even point should be somewhere around the $400 to $500 million mark. So even if the movie won't result in a considerable profit for Disney, it may not lose them money either. However, there's no denying that the debut of Marvel's First Family failed to meet expectations.
Interestingly enough, these box office disappointments took place during a time when audiences agreed that Marvel was finally going back to form after a series of underwhelming projects. The general consensus online is that Thunderbolts* is one of the best MCU movies since Avengers: Endgame. Furthermore, fans share the sentiment that The Fantastic Four: First Steps feels extremely refreshing—especially considering that it takes place in a completely new universe, so there's no need to have any previous superhero knowledge to enjoy it.
So why has the commercial reception of these movies been underwhelming, when they are both a breath of fresh air? Unfortunately, it all comes down to the MCU's recent track record. There's been an overabundance of projects (a case that hasn't been helped by the many Disney+ series), and most of them were greenlit just for the sake of it.
Audiences caught on to this, and they are less inclined to fill movie theaters now. Granted, excitement is always at an all-time high for huge crossovers such as the Avengers movies or any A-list superhero such as Spider-Man. But "regular" MCU projects with more unknown characters will get the short end of the stick.
In an interview with Deadline, Disney CEO Bob Iger admitted that a main focus of the MCU in recent years was to produce as much content as possible: "In our zeal to flood our streaming platform with more content, we turned to all of our creative engines, including Marvel, and had them produce a lot more (...) We’ve also learned over time that quantity does not necessarily beget quality. Frankly, we’ve all admitted to ourselves that we lost a little focus by making too much. By consolidating a bit and having Marvel focus much more on their films, we believe it will result in better quality."
Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps are brilliant examples of the MCU going back to basics and focusing on delivering an outstanding cinematographic experience, as mentioned by Bob Iger. But just as it took a lot of time for the superhero giant to have weak box office performances, it will be a while before every single one of their projects is considered a hit once again. They need to regain the audience's trust, and that's no easy feat.
A lot is riding on the shoulders of Avengers: Doomsday and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Both movies have generated a lot of excitement already, so it's safe to say that audiences will show up to theaters to watch them both. If they meet expectations, then the MCU might have a promising future ahead of it. But if they are huge critical disappointments, then it's time to start getting worried about how long this universe can really go.