Weekend actuals are in for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and it opened to a solid $117.6 million at the North American box office. That's slightly lower than yesterday's estimates, but higher than the initial $100 million - $110 million predictions.
$117.6 million means it places behind only Superman ($125 million), Lilo & Stitch ($146 million) and A Minecraft Movie ($162.8 million) in 2025.
The days of superhero movies consistently dominating multiplexes may be over, but this is a solid result for Marvel Studios and proves the studio still has "it" after Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts* underperformed.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps has also topped Spider-Man: Homecoming's $117 million opening in 2017; that was another failed franchise before Marvel Studios rebooted it, so this opening weekend bodes well for the MCU's First Family moving forward.
To break it down for you, the movie made $24.4 million from Thursday previews, $57.3 million on Friday (including preview screenings), $33.3 million on Saturday, and $27.1 million on Sunday.
Overseas, The Fantastic Four: First Steps opened to $99.1 million in 53 markets, a stronger start than Superman's $95 million haul. The Man of Steel did have the team soundly beaten in the U.S., where it debuted to $125 million earlier this month.
As always, the second weekend will be key for the movie, and we'll have to wait and see where it goes from here. Like Superman, it's probably taking aim at a modest $500+ million total, and that might just be the new norm for the genre.
$1 billion blockbusters are rare now, with only exceptional movies reaching that benchmark. Nine movies grossed over $1 billion in 2019 (one of them made over $2.7 billion: Avengers: Endgame). However, in 2025, only two movies have reached that figure: Lilo & Stitch and the Chinese mega hit, Ne Zha II.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is probably the only movie left in 2025 that stands a chance of hitting $1 billion worldwide, though Jurassic World Rebirth is still holding up well.
Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet.
Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.
In our review of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, we concluded, "The Fantastic Four is an exceptional introduction to the MCU’s First Family, and thanks to a Jack Kirby-infused feel that’s unlike anything we’ve seen before, it proves to be a quintessential superhero movie with Marvel Studios at its brilliant best.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now playing in theaters.