The Fantastic Four: First Steps has touched down in theaters, and with people now getting to watch the latest Marvel Studios blockbuster, we have a CinemaScore (perhaps the best indication of how good word-of-mouth is with filmgoers).
As a reminder, CinemaScore is a market research firm that surveys audience reactions to newly released movies.
After attending opening night screenings, moviegoers rate films on an A+ to F scale, providing insights into audience satisfaction. Widely used in the film industry, CinemaScore helps gauge the initial reception of movies and influences box office predictions based on audience feedback.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps has been awarded an A-, meaning it joins MCU movies like Captain America: The First Avenger, Black Widow, and Thunderbolts*. It also ties with The Batman and another huge superhero movie released earlier this month, Superman.
Unsurprisingly, this is a franchise-best result for the Fantastic Four franchise as First Steps beats 2005's Fantastic Four (B), 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (B) and 2015's Fantastic Four (C-).
On Rotten Tomatoes, this movie has 88% from critics and 93% on the fan-generated Popcornmeter.
The dynamic between Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby seems to have struck a chord with moviegoers, and during a recent interview, they recounted being kicked out of first class (alongside co-stars Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach) while flying from London to Mexico City.
"Oh yeah, we were told off on a flight recently," Kirby laughs in the video below. "The four of us." Pascal replied, "That wasn’t very fair, though. We really weren’t doing anything." Kirby agreed, "No, I didn’t think so. We protested back. We were talking too much, apparently."
"At a certain point, we sort of huddled together, and we were whispering in the dark, and we got kicked out," Pascal shared. "We got kicked out of first class! For talking!"
"We did, we got kicked," Kirby concurred. "They just spread us out because we were talking too much, and apparently it was 'disturbing the other passengers.' We were like, 'But we’re having a nice time!'"
"The other passengers that, there was only one other passenger, who had literally been snoring like a dinosaur for seven hours straight," Pascal noted, with Kirby concluding, "I said, 'I’m sorry, are we louder than that man right there? Because I don’t think so.' We couldn’t believe it. Anyway, it recommenced about an hour later."
You can hear more from them both in the player below.
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.
Also appearing are Natasha Lyonne as Rachel Rozman, Paul Walter Hauser as Harvey Elder/Mole Man, Sarah Niles as Lynne Nichols, and Mark Gatiss as Ted Gilbert. John Malkovich was set to play Red Ghost, but was cut due to time constraints.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is directed by Matt Shakman from a screenplay by Josh Friedman and Eric Pearson and Jeff Kaplan & Ian Springer.
The movie is set to be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.