Fantastic Four’ Box Office: ‘First Steps’ Rockets to Solid $118M Launch

Matt Shakman’s Marvel reboot delivers franchise-best debut in notable win for Kevin Feige’s studio after recent struggles.

BY Cinema News JULY 28, 2025 9:15AM

Mister Fantastic and his family have cleared the launch pad in high style.

Director Matt Shakman’s Fantastic Four: First Steps topped Friday’s box office chart in North America with a huge $57 million, ahead of tracking and putting it on course for a franchise-best debut in the $120 million-$125 million range in a seminal win for Kevin Feige’s Marvel Studios. The film has already crossed the $100 million mark globally after earning $49.2 million in its first few days overseas for an early worldwide tally of $106.2 million through Friday.

Box Office Breakdown

Friday Domestic: $57 million
Weekend Projection: $120M-$125M
International Total: $49.2 million
Global Through Friday: $106.2 million

The acclaimed superhero pic boasts the second-biggest opening day of the year to date domestically behind A Minecraft Movie ($57.1 million). That included $24.4 million in Thursday previews, which was the best preview gross of the year to date after supplanting DC’s Superman ($22.5 million).

Marvel’s Redemption Story

The early performance of First Steps, which is winning over critics and audiences, is welcome news for the Disney-owned Marvel, where Feige and his team are looking for redemption after a rough few years. If projections hold, the Fantastic Four reboot will mark the best domestic opening for Marvel since 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Also on Friday, Disney became the first Hollywood studio to cross $3 billion in global ticket sales this year.

Superman Comparison

Superman debuted to a successful $125 million domestically two weeks ago and $95 million overseas. Fantastic Four is pacing slightly ahead of Superman and should have an upper hand internationally, considering that previous films in the franchise made more of their business offshore.

The Story & Cast

Star-Studded Ensemble

The New York City-set First Steps stars Pedro Pascal as scientific genius Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm. Julia Garner appears as the Silver Surfer.

The film, earning raves for its early 1960s retro-style, follows the space expedition team whose DNA is altered by a cosmic storm, returning them to Earth with superpowers. The new film picks up after the four have become worldwide heroes, but they must return to space when Earth is visited by the Silver Surfer, who warns that the planet is about to be destroyed by a cosmic entity named Galactus.

Critical and Audience Reception

The hope is that Fantastic Four will play to both families and fanboys/fangirls alike, which should help combat lingering superhero fatigue at the box office. It’s earning glowing responses from moviegoers, including an A- CinemaScore, stellar exits on PostTrak and a 93 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

“The pleasing back-to-basics feel in The Fantastic Four: First Steps suggests Marvel has learned valuable lessons from its recent box office underperformers. There’s a fresh willingness to prioritize character over the usual barrage of interchangeable CG action sequences.”

Hollywood Reporter chief film critic David Rooney notes in his review that “The eponymous quartet may have superpowers, but they are also a family, struggling like most of us to handle the most daunting responsibilities life throws our way.”

🏆 FRANCHISE-BEST DEBUT: $120M-$125M WEEKEND PROJECTION

Weekend Box Office Landscape

Elsewhere, Superman is holding in nicely even as it loses Imax screens to Fantastic Four. The DC and Warner Bros. pic should finish its third weekend with nearly $300 million in domestic ticket sales and north of $500 million globally.

Universal and Amblin’s Jurassic World: Rebirth is also celebrating, crossing $300 million domestically this weekend after clearing $600 million globally a week ago.

The strong performance of First Steps suggests that audiences are ready to embrace Marvel’s return to character-driven storytelling, marking a potential turning point for the studio’s recent theatrical struggles.

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