Fantastic Four: First Steps scores Marvel's first US$100 million North American box office opening of 2025 | Singapore Breaking News & Latest Updates

Fantastic Four: First Steps scores Marvel's first US$100 million North American box office opening of 2025 — Entertainment That makes it the fourth biggest opening of the year, behind A Minecraft Movie, Lilo & Stitch and Superman, and the biggest Marvel openi...

Entertainment

That makes it the fourth biggest opening of the year, behind A Minecraft Movie, Lilo & Stitch and Superman, and the biggest Marvel opening since Deadpool & Wolverine grossed US$211 million out of the gate last summer.

This image released by Disney shows promotional art for the film The Fantastic Four: First Steps. (Marvel-Disney via AP)

Marvel’s first family has finally found box office gold. The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the first film about the superheroes made under the guidance of Kevin Feige and the Walt Disney Co, earned US$118 million (S$151 million) in its first weekend in 4,125 North American theatres, according to studio estimates Sunday (Jul 27).

That makes it the fourth biggest opening of the year, behind A Minecraft Movie, Lilo & Stitch and Superman, and the biggest Marvel opening since Deadpool & Wolverine grossed US$211 million out of the gate last summer. Internationally, Fantastic Four made US$100 million from 52 territories, adding up to a US$218 million worldwide debut. The numbers were within the range the studio was expecting.

The film arrived in the wake of another big superhero reboot, James Gunn's Superman, which opened three weekends ago and has already crossed US$500 million globally. That film, from the other main player in comic book films, DC Studios, took second place with US$24.9 million in North America.

First Steps is the latest attempt at bringing the superhuman family to the big screen, following lackluster performances for other versions. The film, based on the original Marvel comics, is set during the 1960s in a retro-futuristic world led by the Fantastic Four, a family of astronauts-turned-superhuman from exposure to cosmic rays during a space mission.

The family is made up of Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), who can stretch his body to incredible lengths; Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), who can render herself invisible; Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), who transforms into a fiery human torch; and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who possesses tremendous superhuman strength with his stone-like flesh.

The movie takes place four years after the family gained powers, during which Reed’s inventions have transformed technology, and Sue’s diplomacy has led to global peace.

Both audiences and critics responded positively to the film, which currently has an 88 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes and promising exit poll responses from opening weekend ticket buyers. An estimated 46 per cent of audiences chose to see it on premium screens, including IMAX and other large formats.

The once towering Marvel is working to rebuild audience enthusiasm for its films and characters. Its two previous offerings this year did not reach the cosmic box office heights of Deadpool & Wolverine, which made over US$1.3 billion, or those of the Avengers-era. But critically, the films have been on an upswing since the poorly reviewed Captain America: Brave New World, which ultimately grossed US$415 million worldwide. Thunderbolts, which jumpstarted the summer movie season, was better received critically but financially is capping out at just over US$382 million globally.

Like Deadpool and Wolverine, the Fantastic Four characters had been under the banner of 20th Century Fox for years. The studio produced two critically loathed, but decently profitable attempts in the mid-2000s with future Captain America Chris Evans as the Human Torch. In 2015, it tried again (unsuccessfully) with Michael B Jordan and Miles Teller. They got another chance after Disney's US$71 billion acquisition of Fox’s entertainment assets in 2019.