Disney’s Marvel Drought Begins: Fantastic Four Flops Against Last Year’s Hits

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Disney’s recent financial results reveal a substantial decline in earnings for its Entertainment division. Operating income dropped to $691 million, a significant decrease from $1.067 billion during the same period last year.

The company pointed directly to theatrical comparisons as the main reason for the decline.

Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps was released this quarter, but it faced tough financial challenges and struggled to succeed at the box office.

Fantastic Four Faced an Impossible Comparison

Disney had a very strong finish to last year, thanks to the huge success of two films: Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2. These movies drove record results across the board, including ticket sales, merchandise, and future revenue streams. This year, Marvel has struggled to reach the same heights, partly because their film lineup wasn’t as strong and the reboot of Fantastic Four hasn’t generated much excitement.

Disney reported a decrease in revenue from content sales and licensing, falling from $2.585 billion to $1.902 billion. This also led to a shift in operating income, from a $316 million profit to a $52 million loss. This change highlights how significantly last year’s blockbuster movies boosted results, making it difficult for this year’s films to perform as well.

Theatrical Decline Dragged Down Segment Results

The Entertainment division saw a decline in movie theater performance. While Disney released films like Fantastic Four, The Roses, Freakier Friday, and continued showing Lilo & Stitch, none were as popular or profitable as Deadpool & Wolverine or Inside Out 2. These earlier hits significantly boosted 2024’s box office results, and that level of success wasn’t repeated in 2025.

The decline in Entertainment revenue, down 35%, highlights a key issue: while streaming services like Disney+ and Hulu gained subscribers and increased income, much of that growth came from large-volume deals – like the one with Charter – which don’t translate into significant actual revenue. This increase wasn’t enough to offset the major losses happening with movies released in theaters.

Marvel’s Reboot Era Still Has Work to Do

The recent attempt to reboot Fantastic Four aimed to attract a new audience, but the movie industry is more competitive now, and Marvel’s popularity isn’t as strong as it used to be. Without a huge success this past quarter, the entertainment division couldn’t build on the positive global impact that boosted last year’s results.

Simply put, 2024 was a strong year for Disney’s movies in theaters, with two major hits. 2025 hasn’t seen the same success. While Fantastic Four was expected to perform well, it couldn’t reach the level of Deadpool & Wolverine, and this drop in performance is reflected in the Entertainment division’s overall results.

Disney is facing challenges because its next Marvel movie isn’t scheduled until Avengers: Doomsday in December 2026. For now, the company is hoping this year’s Avatar: Fire and Ash will help improve its performance.

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2025-11-13 21:03