The Sunday numbers are in, and Marvel Studios’ “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” has officially opened to a solid $218 million global debut — with $118M from North American theaters and another $100M overseas. It’s a strong showing, though it lands just shy of the $220M launch James Gunn’s” Superman” enjoyed earlier this summer.
Still, expectations were higher. Domestic totals came in under Friday’s optimistic projections, and a sharp 42% drop on Saturday points to a potentially front-loaded opening. Whether the film has staying power remains an open question.
Early indications suggest the usual Marvel faithful turned out in force for Thursday previews and Friday screenings, but broader audiences — especially families — don’t seem to be embracing the film the way they did “Superman.”
‘Fantastic Four’ earned an A- CinemaScore, on par with “Superman,” but the latter continues to show strong legs, bringing in another $25M this weekend to hold second place. Its global total now stands at $500M — a number ‘Fantastic Four’ may struggle to reach.
As for the rest: “Jurassic World Rebirth held third with $13M in its fourth weekend, boosting its total to $301M domestic and $718M worldwide. Solid numbers, though still below the billion-dollar benchmark of past ‘Jurassic’ entries.
Apple’s F1: The Movie stayed steady in fourth, dipping just 37% for $6.2M. The Brad Pitt racing drama has raced to $165M domestic and $509M globally, already Apple’s highest-grossing film despite its $250M budget. Driven by Euro audiences, it could conceivably hit the $600M mark by the end of its run.
As for A24’s “Eddington,” some things are better left unreported. Almost a 70% dip from the previous weekend, $1.7M was its weekend total.
The ‘Smile’ franchise has a new director. David Bruckner, who made “The Night House” and the 2022 “Hellraiser” reboot, has been hired to direct “Smile 3” for Paramount.