Movies THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS (Passes $400 Million Globally; Dragonlord's Review, post #1)

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

@Dragonlordxxxxx


9/10

I dont have to put spoiler tags.

First off.

Casting was excellent. Vanessa Kriby absolutely nails Sue.

Even though I'm not a fan of Pascal's outside of movies and TVs , can't deny he's reliable in whatever he is in .

Joseph Quinn to me is a star and I like that his Johnny isn't just a cocky Moron the characters Choices were an Important point in Justifying using Shalah Bal over Norin Radd.

Ebon as thing was also nice and pretty neat to go with a Rock Beard for thing.


In the lead up I wasn't a fan of them Choosing to do Shalah Bal but the choice to make her a pseudo romantic connection with Johnny hit the Right notes allowed Jonnhy to be a more well written character. Plus it fits the Mother similarity to Sue.

Still want to see OG Norin Rad though.


Funny the Best Fantastic 4 movie to me is still the 1st Incredibles and that ends with the Underminer which is an oder to Moleman , and this One Starts with Moleman so that's a pretty cool coincidence.

The Retro feel and look just feels like a Giant love letter to Jack Kirby.

I enjoyed this.

Noice!

Funny the Best Fantastic 4 movie to me is still the 1st Incredibles and that ends with the Underminer which is an oder to Moleman , and this One Starts with Moleman so that's a pretty cool coincidence.

Mole Man is a key part in the Fantastic Four history because he is the very first villain they fought in issue #1. In the past Fox F4 movies, they just ignored him and focused more on the flashier enemies of the team. So it was really nice for Marvel Studios to not only acknowledge Harvey Elder but give him a significant role during the climax of the film. I love that they even showed Giganto, which is a tribute to the iconic cover of Fantastic Four issue #1.

 

[Pittie Petey]

Noice!


Mole Man is a key part in the Fantastic Four history because he is the very first villain they fought in issue #1. In the past Fox F4 movies, they just ignored him and focused more on the flashier enemies of the team. So it was really nice for Marvel Studios to not only acknowledge Harvey Elder but give him a significant role during the climax of the film. I love that they even showed Giganto, which is a tribute to the iconic cover of Fantastic Four issue #1.

Yea, I frickin' loved the Giganto spot in the beginning, its been said multiple times already but the love and attention to detail that the filmmakers showed in crafting this beautiful, amazing world is enough to give the warm and fuzzies all over

I hope they get some recognition come award season!

 

[heavyarms21]

Lol

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

Box office update [with actual numbers]:

Fantastic Four: First Steps remains No. 1 for the second opening weekend with an estimated $38.7 million for a 67% drop from last week. The film has earned $198 million in the US for a $367 million worldwide total.

Box Office: ‘Fantastic Four’ Lords Over ‘Bad Guys 2,’ ‘Naked Gun’ But Suffers Sharp Decline

The Marvel superhero pic tumbled 66 percent in its sophomore outing domestically, compared to a 53 percent drop for DC's 'Superman.'

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[JBSchroeds]

66% drop. Woof. That's almost as bad as Fant4stic (-68%). If it matches RotSS's performance (-65.5%) it'll end up at just $270mil domestic.

 

[armbarforhire]

It matched Superman's BO on the first weekend, after the opening its falling behind millions every day on the domestic.

 

[heavyarms21]

Oooof this movie cost so much to Market and Make that it "Only" Being at $368 Mil is not good especially with a Budget + $200M .

 

[KnightTemplar]

Box office update:

Fantastic Four: First Steps remains No. 1 for the second opening weekend with an estimated $40 million for a 66% drop from last week. The film has earned $198 million in the US for a $368 million worldwide total.

Box Office: ‘Fantastic Four’ Lords Over ‘Bad Guys 2,’ ‘Naked Gun’ But Suffers Sharp Decline

The Marvel superhero pic tumbled 66 percent in its sophomore outing domestically, compared to a 53 percent drop for DC's 'Superman.'

www.hollywoodreporter.com

There's a lot of YouTube videos calling this movie a flop. I tend to take such things with a grain of salt, as most of these content creators very much have their own agenda to push.

But a 66% second week drop?

 

[Batjester]

There's a lot of YouTube videos calling this movie a flop. I tend to take such things with a grain of salt, as most of these content creators very much have their own agenda to push.

But a 66% second week drop?

Just a theory but I don't see this movie as one people are wanting to see a second time in the theater. The story is good, but there isn't a lot of huge action scenes that make it a must see a second time on the big screen.

 

[heavyarms21]

Just a theory but I don't see this movie as one people are wanting to see a second time in the theater. The story is good, but there isn't a lot of huge action scenes that make it a must see a second time on the big screen.

That also has to do with Movie Theaters being over priced as fuck. I really liked the Movie , but I'll wait for Disney Plus

 

[Streeter]

Not doung nearly as well as thought. I thought it was solid. Thunderbolts was better though

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

As a general rule for computing the break even point for a film at the box office, the formula is budget x 2.5 (the 0.5 is to account for marketing cost). First Steps has a reported production budget of $200 million. So the film has to reach $500 million more or less to break even and it will most likely reach $500 million in a few weeks. So calling it a flop might be inaccurate or premature but nonetheless it makes for a catchy headline or thumbnail labeling it that. But purely in terms of box office, it will likely break even with a little bit of profit maybe. And it will be profitable overall if you count the promotional tie-ins and other factors to offset the cost and the ancillary revenue from home video, international sales and streaming.

Despite the positive audience and critical reactions the movie has received, the film is not doing as well as hoped for at the box office. The superhero movie landscape has not been the same since its heyday 6 to 13 years ago. Marvel Studios have put out some bad films after Endgame. They killed off Tony Stark and exiled Steve Rogers, the two cornerstone MCU characters casual fans are heavily invested in. So without the two of them, the general audience aren't as excited to go to the movies. The Disney+ Marvel shows did serious damage to the MCU, diluting or watering down the brand. Cinema attendance hasn't fully recovered after COVID. The popularity and the increase of streaming services. People are more thrifty with their money in this economy. Ticket prices are higher as well as the thought of spending for snacks and drinks. All of these combined are a factor in why quality superhero films are struggling at the box office.

There are also outliers like Deadpool & Wolverine (2023) or Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) which earned a billion dollars at the box office. Most likely because it starred two of the most popular superhero characters of all time and featured gimmicks of bringing back nostalgic characters and the movies themselves were good, the general audience did show up to the cinemas. I'm saying that under the right circumstances, people will still come.

General audience didn't show up for Thunderbolts* because they didn't care about these B or C-list characters, not enough to pay for a ticket. Yes, people know the Fantastic Four but most of them are not really into the team, not enough to purchase a ticket. Some may have been burned out with Fox's previous F4 movies or skewed into thinking that these are B-type characters.

Marvel Studios is in its rebuilding phase. They're back to Phase One where some of their movies didn't make much money or no money at all. But the good thing is they are back to making quality movies that most fans enjoyed. Thunderbolts* was the first step in the right direction. Fantastic Four: First Steps was the, um, second step. Yes, they're not making much money now but it's all about re-building up that goodwill Marvel Studios had with the public again. When these two films hit streaming or home media, the public will watch it and hopefully enjoyed it enough to be curious what's next or be invested to see the next Marvel installments.

2026's Spider-Man: Brand New Day is likely going to be a box office hit and has a strong chance of hitting the billion dollar-mark. Later that year, we will finally get Avengers: Doomsday which will feature the cast of Thunderbolts* and First Steps, thereby legitmizing them as important characters in the overall MCU. It all culminates in 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars which will change the landscape of the MCU forever. On top of that, we still have the X-Men reboot.

So if you're an MCU fan, the future looks bright. Their 2025 summer movies are not making money but the most important thing, they're back to making quality films. Hopefully Feige and Marvel Studios don't panic or overreact and they just stay on course with their road map just like in Phase One.

 

[Aegon Spengler]

As a general rule for computing the break even point for a film at the box office, the formula is budget x 2.5 (the 0.5 is to account for marketing cost). First Steps has a reported production budget of $200 million. So the film has to reach $500 million more or less to break even and it will most likely reach $500 million in a few weeks. So calling it a flop might be inaccurate or premature but nonetheless it makes for a catchy headline or thumbnail labeling it that. But purely in terms of box office, it will likely break even with a little bit of profit maybe. And it will be profitable overall if you count the promotional tie-ins and other factors to offset the cost and the ancillary revenue from home video, international sales and streaming.

Despite the positive audience and critical reactions the movie has received, the film is not doing as well as hoped for at the box office. The superhero movie landscape has not been the same since its heyday 6 to 13 years ago. Marvel Studios have put out some bad films after Endgame. They killed off Tony Stark and exiled Steve Rogers, the two cornerstone MCU characters casual fans are heavily invested in. So without the two of them, the general audience aren't as excited to go to the movies. The Disney+ Marvel shows did serious damage to the MCU, diluting or watering down the brand. Cinema attendance hasn't fully recovered after COVID. The popularity and the increase of streaming services. People are more thrifty with their money in this economy. Ticket prices are higher as well as the thought of spending for snacks and drinks. All of these combined are a factor in why quality superhero films are struggling at the box office.

There are also outliers like Deadpool & Wolverine (2023) or Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) which earned a billion dollars at the box office. Most likely because it starred two of the most popular superhero characters of all time and featured gimmicks of bringing back nostalgic characters and the movies themselves were good, the general audience did show up to the cinemas. I'm saying that under the right circumstances, people will still come.

General audience didn't show up for Thunderbolts* because they didn't care about these B or C-list characters, not enough to pay for a ticket. Yes, people know the Fantastic Four but most of them are not really into the team, not enough to purchase a ticket. Some may have been burned out with Fox's previous F4 movies or skewed into thinking that these are B-type characters.

Marvel Studios is in its rebuilding phase. They're back to Phase One where some of their movies didn't make much money or no money at all. But the good thing is they are back to making quality movies that most fans enjoyed. Thunderbolts* was the first step in the right direction. Fantastic Four: First Steps was the, um, second step. Yes, they're not making much money now but it's all about re-building up that goodwill Marvel Studios had with the public again. When these two films hit streaming or home media, the public will watch it and hopefully enjoyed it enough to be curious what's next or be invested to see the next Marvel installments.

2026's Spider-Man: Brand New Day is likely going to be a box office hit and has a strong chance of hitting the billion dollar-mark. Later that year, we will finally get Avengers: Doomsday which will feature the cast of Thunderbolts* and First Steps, thereby legitmizing them as important characters in the overall MCU. It all culminates in 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars which will change the landscape of the MCU forever. On top of that, we still have the X-Men reboot.

So if you're an MCU fan, the future looks bright. Their 2025 summer movies are not making money but the most important thing, they're back to making quality films. Hopefully Feige and Marvel Studios don't panic or overreact and they just stay on course with their road map just like in Phase One.

There is one other mitigating factor. The cost of living crisis has never been worse so the cost of going to the cinema is still going up relative to income. And just in general, they are charging more and more for popcorn, pop, stuff that is cheap. They can't gouge people forever.

 

[Dragonlordxxxxx]

There is one other mitigating factor. The cost of living crisis has never been worse so the cost of going to the cinema is still going up relative to income. And just in general, they are charging more and more for popcorn, pop, stuff that is cheap. They can't gouge people forever.

For the first forty years of watching movies in cinemas, I didn't usually buy any snacks or drinks. I didn't really need any of that to enjoy whatever it was I was watching. It's just only the last 4 years that I've grown the habit of buying snacks in theaters.

 

[cws80us]

Kind of a bummer that the last 2 Marvel films were both excellent and well received critically but failed at the box office. Just reenforces the whole super hero fatigue narrative. Even Superman looks to be somewhat of a disappointment. Likely to fall well short of the billion dollar mark. Heck it looks like Jurassic Park will out perform them all. Sad.

 

[heavyarms21]

It's sucks that FF4 is not the Box Office Smash that previous MCU flicks were say in Prime Phase 2 and 3 , same with Thunderbolts. Both were made with a lot of Heart and were enjoyable. Thunderbolts hit on themes of Mental Health and Grief , while FF4 hit on Themes of Family and the sacrifices people make for their Children.

Yes I think both Movies have to climb uphill a bit because the MCU hasn't been the Money Maker it once was , but also didn't help that you got Raig Bait YouTubes that are chomping at the Bit to lay waste to everything , it's part of their shitty Business Template that everything is seen through the Eyes of someone immediately wanting a project to fail.

 

[KnightTemplar]

As a general rule for computing the break even point for a film at the box office, the formula is budget x 2.5 (the 0.5 is to account for marketing cost). First Steps has a reported production budget of $200 million. So the film has to reach $500 million more or less to break even and it will most likely reach $500 million in a few weeks. So calling it a flop might be inaccurate or premature but nonetheless it makes for a catchy headline or thumbnail labeling it that. But purely in terms of box office, it will likely break even with a little bit of profit maybe. And it will be profitable overall if you count the promotional tie-ins and other factors to offset the cost and the ancillary revenue from home video, international sales and streaming.

Despite the positive audience and critical reactions the movie has received, the film is not doing as well as hoped for at the box office. The superhero movie landscape has not been the same since its heyday 6 to 13 years ago. Marvel Studios have put out some bad films after Endgame. They killed off Tony Stark and exiled Steve Rogers, the two cornerstone MCU characters casual fans are heavily invested in. So without the two of them, the general audience aren't as excited to go to the movies. The Disney+ Marvel shows did serious damage to the MCU, diluting or watering down the brand. Cinema attendance hasn't fully recovered after COVID. The popularity and the increase of streaming services. People are more thrifty with their money in this economy. Ticket prices are higher as well as the thought of spending for snacks and drinks. All of these combined are a factor in why quality superhero films are struggling at the box office.

There are also outliers like Deadpool & Wolverine (2023) or Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) which earned a billion dollars at the box office. Most likely because it starred two of the most popular superhero characters of all time and featured gimmicks of bringing back nostalgic characters and the movies themselves were good, the general audience did show up to the cinemas. I'm saying that under the right circumstances, people will still come.

General audience didn't show up for Thunderbolts* because they didn't care about these B or C-list characters, not enough to pay for a ticket. Yes, people know the Fantastic Four but most of them are not really into the team, not enough to purchase a ticket. Some may have been burned out with Fox's previous F4 movies or skewed into thinking that these are B-type characters.

Marvel Studios is in its rebuilding phase. They're back to Phase One where some of their movies didn't make much money or no money at all. But the good thing is they are back to making quality movies that most fans enjoyed. Thunderbolts* was the first step in the right direction. Fantastic Four: First Steps was the, um, second step. Yes, they're not making much money now but it's all about re-building up that goodwill Marvel Studios had with the public again. When these two films hit streaming or home media, the public will watch it and hopefully enjoyed it enough to be curious what's next or be invested to see the next Marvel installments.

2026's Spider-Man: Brand New Day is likely going to be a box office hit and has a strong chance of hitting the billion dollar-mark. Later that year, we will finally get Avengers: Doomsday which will feature the cast of Thunderbolts* and First Steps, thereby legitmizing them as important characters in the overall MCU. It all culminates in 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars which will change the landscape of the MCU forever. On top of that, we still have the X-Men reboot.

So if you're an MCU fan, the future looks bright. Their 2025 summer movies are not making money but the most important thing, they're back to making quality films. Hopefully Feige and Marvel Studios don't panic or overreact and they just stay on course with their road map just like in Phase One.

It shows how much the fans have drifted away from Marvel, as well as how the Zeitgeist has shifted. Captain Marvel was mediocre, but Marvel still made a Billion dollars off it because of Endgame hype. Thunderbolts* and FF: First Steps are the best films the MCU has put out since No Way Home, but they're still struggling at the box office.

I hope that Marvel will be able to regain the fan's trust in time for Doomsday.

 

[Myrddin Wild]

In teh poll I went big on Fantastic 4 being a breakout success, & admittedly that was mostly based on the idea that Eddie from Stranger Thingz waz in it & would draw that crowd. In hindsite... Stranger tingz iz a streaming show, & so I think that boom will happen for this movie after it hits streaming availability.

Superhero fatigue mixed with Marvel confusing everyone with the quantum realm is in my view what brought teh big gorilla down a couple of notchez. I loved hearing Brother Dragon'z enthusiasm for a renewed focus moving forward that might wipe all this clean.

Hopefully they don't go full on "Deadpool & Wolverine" thinking every movie needz to be a comedy. Surely they get that is a nitch thing that needz to stay separated from teh rest of teh lore. I mean you can throw that in there sparsely, but you gotta be really careful not to do that too much. What I'm saying is that a sequel for Poolverine is all good, but just don't try throwing too much of that in elsewhere just because that waz a hit.

That said, if Deadpool is recruited to save teh world, then we have a perfect way to integrate Poolverine into teh more serious based shows. Still... be very careful not to do that too much. We can't have teh next "End Game" being Poolverine 3 & 4.

 

[heavyarms21]

 

[method115]

Little things I liked:



- I like Johnny's pro-active, take-charge attitude when a situation arises without being told what to do AND gets good results out of his actions. The Surfer leaves, he immediately chases her. Negotiations with Galactus is not going well, Johnny blasts him. He feels there's more to the alien message, he spends months cracking it - and it pays off big time in the end.



- Love love love the thrilling chase sequence starting with the team trying to escape Galactus' ship and then Shalla-Bal relentlessly pursuing them through Faster Than Light travel.

- I love that Sue dramatically ordered Johnny to "kill her". Hearing the "kill" part was a surprise but it really emphasized the dire situation they were in and showed Sue's lioness mentality in protecting her son.

I really loved these things as well especially Johnny's take-charge attitude. I've never been a huge fan of the Fantastic Four but I think just about any child can see how cool The Human Torch is. This is by far the best version of the character to me and they did it without even making him some smart-ass non-stop jokes character.


When Sue gave Johnny that command I was shocked but like you said it was great and really made it feel real.

This was a great movie and one of my favorite Marvel movies in a long time. Thunderbolts was ok but man I'm getting tired of all the jokes it makes all the movies feel like a joke. It's not even that the jokes aren't hitting they are I'm laughing but it's to much.

I have some complaints with the main villian being taken care of a little to easily but otherwise great movie.


I also thought we were going to have their kid turn into doctor doom but I guess not. I thought we might get some sort of storyline that the kid is taken\accelerated aging at some point but I guess not.

As a general rule for computing the break even point for a film at the box office, the formula is budget x 2.5 (the 0.5 is to account for marketing cost). First Steps has a reported production budget of $200 million. So the film has to reach $500 million more or less to break even and it will most likely reach $500 million in a few weeks. So calling it a flop might be inaccurate or premature but nonetheless it makes for a catchy headline or thumbnail labeling it that. But purely in terms of box office, it will likely break even with a little bit of profit maybe. And it will be profitable overall if you count the promotional tie-ins and other factors to offset the cost and the ancillary revenue from home video, international sales and streaming.

Despite the positive audience and critical reactions the movie has received, the film is not doing as well as hoped for at the box office. The superhero movie landscape has not been the same since its heyday 6 to 13 years ago. Marvel Studios have put out some bad films after Endgame. They killed off Tony Stark and exiled Steve Rogers, the two cornerstone MCU characters casual fans are heavily invested in. So without the two of them, the general audience aren't as excited to go to the movies. The Disney+ Marvel shows did serious damage to the MCU, diluting or watering down the brand. Cinema attendance hasn't fully recovered after COVID. The popularity and the increase of streaming services. People are more thrifty with their money in this economy. Ticket prices are higher as well as the thought of spending for snacks and drinks. All of these combined are a factor in why quality superhero films are struggling at the box office.

There are also outliers like Deadpool & Wolverine (2023) or Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) which earned a billion dollars at the box office. Most likely because it starred two of the most popular superhero characters of all time and featured gimmicks of bringing back nostalgic characters and the movies themselves were good, the general audience did show up to the cinemas. I'm saying that under the right circumstances, people will still come.

General audience didn't show up for Thunderbolts* because they didn't care about these B or C-list characters, not enough to pay for a ticket. Yes, people know the Fantastic Four but most of them are not really into the team, not enough to purchase a ticket. Some may have been burned out with Fox's previous F4 movies or skewed into thinking that these are B-type characters.

Marvel Studios is in its rebuilding phase. They're back to Phase One where some of their movies didn't make much money or no money at all. But the good thing is they are back to making quality movies that most fans enjoyed. Thunderbolts* was the first step in the right direction. Fantastic Four: First Steps was the, um, second step. Yes, they're not making much money now but it's all about re-building up that goodwill Marvel Studios had with the public again. When these two films hit streaming or home media, the public will watch it and hopefully enjoyed it enough to be curious what's next or be invested to see the next Marvel installments.

2026's Spider-Man: Brand New Day is likely going to be a box office hit and has a strong chance of hitting the billion dollar-mark. Later that year, we will finally get Avengers: Doomsday which will feature the cast of Thunderbolts* and First Steps, thereby legitmizing them as important characters in the overall MCU. It all culminates in 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars which will change the landscape of the MCU forever. On top of that, we still have the X-Men reboot.

So if you're an MCU fan, the future looks bright. Their 2025 summer movies are not making money but the most important thing, they're back to making quality films. Hopefully Feige and Marvel Studios don't panic or overreact and they just stay on course with their road map just like in Phase One.

Great post and I agree with all of this. It's part of the reason I'm very surprised they haven't accelerated the X-men already. IMO that would be a great way to get people back into the theaters and more importantly start setting up a new phase that people want to stick with and see how it plays out. They seem to be hell bent on making everything but the new X-men and I dont understand why.

Hell if done right they could slowly build up the X-men like they did the avengers. Having each character join by the end of the movie or meet Professor X at the end something like that.