Fantastic Four First Steps Barely Scrapes Past Box Office Milestone
Fans are calling it one of the slowest climbs for a Marvel movie in years, with the film struggling to keep momentum despite heavy marketing.
Marvel finally got its First Family over the half-billion hump. The Fantastic Four: First Steps has crossed $500 million worldwide a little more than a month after release — a solid headline, even if the road there was not exactly smooth.
The numbers, at a glance
- Global box office: $506.3 million (per Box Office Mojo)
- Breakdown: $265.8 million domestic, $240.5 million international
- Release date: July 25
- Opening weekend: $218 million
- It is currently 2025’s top-grossing Marvel movie, ahead of Thunderbolts* ($382 million) and Captain America: Brave New World ($415 million)
Half a billion is nothing to sneeze at, but in Marvel-land the comparison game is brutal. Last year’s Deadpool and Wolverine steamrolled past $1.3 billion, and the franchise’s top dog remains Avengers: Endgame, which got within striking distance of $3 billion. So, yes, First Steps is winning 2025 for Marvel, but it is not running with the MCU’s all-time heavyweights.
The trajectory hasn’t helped. After a strong start, the movie took a massive second-weekend dive and never really found its legs again. That tracks with what we’ve seen a lot lately: big curiosity up front, softer follow-through.
What it is, who’s in it, what’s next
This is Marvel’s official MCU debut for the Fantastic Four — the studio’s long-teased Phase 6 handoff to its so-called First Family. The team lineup: Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing. And yes, baby Franklin is along for the ride.
The foursome (and baby Franklin) are already booked to show up again next year in Avengers: Doomsday, which is where a lot of fans expect the bigger narrative swings to land.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in theaters now.