Marvel’s ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Becomes First 2025 Film to Open Above $100 Million

Marvel’s first family has finally struck box office gold. The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the first film featuring the iconic superheroes under Kevin Feige’s leadership and Disney’s umbrella, raked in $118 million domestically in its debut weekend across 4,125 theaters in North America.

This strong showing ranks as the fourth biggest opening of the year, trailing A Minecraft Movie, Lilo & Stitch, and Superman. It also marks the best Marvel debut since last summer’s Deadpool & Wolverine, which opened to a staggering $211 million. Internationally, the film pulled in an additional $100 million across 52 territories, bringing its worldwide total to $218 million—right in line with industry expectations.

The film arrives on the heels of another major superhero reboot: James Gunn’s Superman, which launched three weeks ago and has now passed $500 million globally. It took second place this weekend with $24.9 million in domestic earnings.

The success of both films is being seen as a rebuttal to ongoing speculation about “superhero fatigue.” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, noted, “This shows it’s not about being tired of superheroes—it’s about the quality of the movie. Audiences are responding to good storytelling.”

First Steps is the latest cinematic attempt to bring Marvel’s Fantastic Four to life, following several less successful versions. Set in a retro-futuristic version of the 1960s, the film explores the lives of a family of astronauts who gain superpowers after exposure to cosmic radiation. The cast includes Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm (Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm (Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm (The Thing).

The story picks up four years after the family’s transformation. Reed’s groundbreaking inventions have revolutionized global tech, while Sue’s diplomatic efforts have brought about world peace.

Critics and audiences alike have embraced the film, which currently holds an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Early exit polls also show strong enthusiasm, with nearly half of viewers choosing premium screens like IMAX.

Marvel is still working to recapture the momentum of its peak Avengers-era box office runs. While Deadpool & Wolverine delivered more than $1.3 billion, earlier 2025 releases like Captain America: Brave New World ($415 million globally) and Thunderbolts (just over $382 million) fell short of expectations—though the latter was better received by critics.

This reboot of Fantastic Four is especially notable because the characters were previously part of 20th Century Fox’s slate. That studio produced two critically panned but moderately successful films in the mid-2000s, featuring Chris Evans as the Human Torch. A 2015 reboot with Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller also underperformed. Disney’s $71 billion acquisition of Fox’s entertainment assets in 2019 gave Marvel Studios another opportunity to relaunch the franchise.

Despite performing slightly below the highest rival projections, the film is expected to remain a box office force through August.

Meanwhile, holdovers continued to dominate the top 10. One new title broke through: dark romantic comedy Oh, Hi!, which opened to $1.1 million from 866 locations.

Other top performers include Jurassic World Rebirth, taking third place with $13 million in its fourth weekend, and F1: The Movie, starring Brad Pitt, which earned $6.2 million and surpassed $500 million globally. Smurfs rounded out the top five with $5.4 million in its second weekend.

As of now, the box office is up more than 12% compared to this time last year.