- Disney and Marvel’s “Fantastic Four: First Steps” opened to an estimated $118 million at the domestic box office.
- Internationally, the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe film snared an estimated $100 million, bringing its global weekend haul to $218 million.
- “Fantastic Four: First Steps” has an 88% “Fresh” rating from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
Superhero fatigue, what?
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A comic book movie has soared to the top of the box office twice in a single month, with over $100 million in ticket sales at launch.
It was James Gunn and Peter Safran’s first theatrical release as co-heads of DC Studios at Warner Bros. Discovery, “Superman,” two weeks ago.Over the course of its first three days in theaters, Disney and Marvel’s “Fantastic Four: First Steps” generated an estimated $118 million in ticket sales this weekend.
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Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian stated, “The lesson is that if you build great movies, audiences will head to the multiplex.”
With an estimated $100 million in foreign revenue, “Fantastic Four: First Steps” brought in $218 million for the weekend worldwide.
Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory, stated, “Marvel made a significant investment by releasing the Fantastic Four as the final MCU movie to be released in theaters for at least another year, and it’s paying off.” “The franchise has had its share of hiccups in recent years, but Marvel’s First Family is winning over fans and spurring the kind of enthusiasm that could bring back casual viewers who sat out some post-‘Endgame’ chapters.”
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Following the record-breaking “Avengers: Endgame,” which was the result of over ten years of interconnected storytelling, Marvel has faced difficulties. Some films, such as “Captain America: Brave New World,” “The Marvels,” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” did not evoke the same level of excitement in audiences as movies like “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3.”
The studio has seen other setbacks than box office receipts. Marvel movies have seen a lot of changes since the 2019 release of “Endgame.” In the past, no MCU movie had a Rotten Tomatoes rating lower than 67%, suggesting that all of them were deemed “Fresh,” a sign that reviewers viewed them favorably overall.
Five of the franchise’s films have since fallen short of that mark, and three of those were regarded as “Rotten,” with reviews that were less than 50% positive.
Rotten Tomatoes gave “Captain America: Brave New World” a 48% grade and $413 million worldwide this year. However, “Thunderbolts*” only made $382 million worldwide, making it one of only five Marvel Cinematic Universe films to earn less than $400 million. It also had an 88% “Fresh” rating.
The website also gives “Fantastic Four: First Steps,” its most recent theatrical release, an 88% “Fresh” rating.
“For Disney, this has truly been a magical summer and for Marvel a reaffirmation that their strategy to revamp the brand is certainly working,” Dergarabedian stated. “With ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ following in the footsteps of ‘Thunderbolts*’ Marvel is showing that a focus on quality rather than quantity is a recipe for success.”
Disclosure: CNBC and NBCUniversal are owned by Comcast. Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango are owned by NBCUniversal.
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