‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Remains No. 1 at the Box Office

Marvel’s latest reboot, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, held onto the number one spot at the box office despite a sharp 66% decline in its second weekend. The film earned $40 million from 4,125 North American theaters, down from its $117.6 million debut.

That drop is steeper than the second-weekend decline of Marvel’s Thunderbolts, which fell by 55%, and came as a surprise given the film’s strong reviews. The movie also collected an additional $40 million overseas, bringing its global total to $369 million.

Media analyst Paul Dergarabedian noted that while First Steps gave summer box office numbers a solid push toward the $4 billion mark, August appears to be off to a slow start. “It’s going to come down to individual films performing well based on quality and longevity,” he said.

In second place, Universal’s animated comedy sequel The Bad Guys 2 debuted with $22 million from 3,852 theaters—right on target with projections and nearly matching the original film’s $23 million opening in 2022. Universal’s other comedy, The Naked Gun, also made a strong debut, earning $17 million from 3,344 locations to take third place.

Universal’s president of domestic distribution, Jim Orr, praised the response to The Bad Guys 2, saying that its audience reaction and positive scores suggest “a long, successful run through the summer and into the fall.”

Meanwhile, James Gunn’s Superman—now in its fourth weekend—earned $13.8 million to land in fourth place, pushing its global earnings past $550 million. Jurassic World Rebirth rounded out the top five with $8.7 million.

In sixth place, horror-thriller Together made a strong debut with $6.8 million, signaling audience appetite for darker, offbeat films in August. “This month is about more than just big numbers,” Dergarabedian said. “It’s also a time to deliver unique, meaningful experiences to moviegoers.”

He added that upcoming films like Freakier Friday and Zach Cregger’s horror entry Weapons could help boost August’s sluggish start.

So far, the box office is up 9.5% compared to the same time last year.

Top 10 Films at the Domestic Box Office (Friday–Sunday Estimates):