Fantastic Four Box Office Stalls, Fails To Beat Superman

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In a turn of events, the initial round appears to be in favor of James Gunn and the revamped DC Universe. The Superman movie directed by Gunn is soaring high and surpassed the opening weekend box office earnings of Fantastic Four.

I departed on Friday to attend Comic-Con, where it seemed like the Fantastic Four was dominating. On its Thursday previews, FF surpassed expectations with a staggering box office take of $24.4 million, outperforming Superman’s $22.5M. If this trend persisted throughout the weekend, the Fantastic Four would have outshone Superman’s opening weekend earnings of $125M; however, it ultimately fell short of that mark.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens to $118M

The Marvel movie “Fantastic Four” earned approximately $118 million domestically. However, its earnings dropped significantly on Saturday and Sunday, indicating that a large portion of the audience who watched it were drawn in by Kevin Feige’s fanbase on Thursday and Friday, as they tend to consume anything related to Feige.

At Comic-Con, I spoke with numerous individuals who missed watching the Fantastic Four movie so far, but I’m skeptical if this will matter much. If attendance for FF increases during the week, you’ll have your answer. What caught my attention was that many of them were sporting FF apparel, yet they hadn’t actually seen the film. It’s worth noting that last year, Deadpool and Wolverine didn’t suffer due to being at Comic-Con either.

Additionally, I believe it was a significant oversight not including FF in SDCC this year, as Marvel Studios opted to bypass the entire event. Interestingly, James Gunn attended not only the DCU Peacemaker Season 2 panel but also unexpectedly showed up at the DC Jim Lee panel. Remarkably, my friend was even lucky enough to win an exceptional Superman prize, which included Gunn’s autograph, a Jim Lee sketch, and additional items.

Regarding box office earnings, just like Superman, Fantastic Four started with a modest overseas debut, earning approximately $100 million. The global opening of Fantastic Four amounts to $218 million. In contrast, Gunn’s Superman opened to a worldwide total of $220 million and has surpassed the $500M mark; however, it took longer than The Batman (details about that will be discussed later).

The movie Fantastic Four continues to impress with an impressive 87% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and a staggering 93% rating from audiences. To put it simply, CinemaScore gave it an “A-“, suggesting that the film resonated well with viewers. I, too, found it enjoyable, as you can see in my review. Interestingly, I haven’t encountered any Fantastic Four fans who didn’t enjoy it at Comic-Con. Conversely, the release of Superman sparked a lot of controversy and polarized opinions. Many people have spoken out against certain aspects, particularly the portrayal of Jor-El and its potential implications about immigration, which has left the Asian community feeling strongly against James Gunn’s Superman, as evidenced by poor box office performance.

It’s intriguing to observe how FF fares in the upcoming weeks. On a local scale, Superman has been doing quite well, albeit it experienced a significant drop during its third weekend. Take note of this: Superman earned $24.6M in weekend three, while The Batman grossed more than $36.7M. Wow, that’s quite a difference!

Fantastic Four box office

Grosses

  • Domestic (54.1%): $118,000,000
  • International (45.9%): $100,000,000
  • Worldwide: $218,000,000

Daily:

  • Friday: $57M
  • Saturday: $33.2M
  • Sunday: $28.8M

Superman box office

First three days:

  • Friday: $56,109,755
  • Saturday: $37,606,538
  • Sunday: $31,305,442

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2025-07-28 09:01