The Fantastic Four takes its first steps with early Thursday screenings stretching to over $24 million
Earlier this week, we outlined our projections for the box office this weekend and our Editor-in-Chief, Chris Bumbray, predicted that Fantastic Four: First Steps is almost certain to outperform Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*. Then, he says, “I don’t expect it to open as big as Superman. […] Positive word of mouth and strong reviews—including ours—will help, and I think it’ll have a solid debut. Still, I’m predicting an opening around $95 million. That’s on the low end of industry projections, with some insiders suggesting it could beat Superman and open to $135 million. Personally, I find that highly unlikely.”
Deadline is now reporting, taking into account a Friday morning update, that Marvel’s first family at the MCU is seeing upwards of over $24 million in early Thursday preview screenings. Comparatively, it’s just shy of Captain America: Civil War‘s $25 million Thursday opening, which led to a $75.5 million Friday, and finished out the weekend with $179.1 million. Our Chris Bumbray feels the hype around Fantastic Four: First Steps was not as significant as Superman‘s. While both are high profile, and there’s a lot riding on these releases, Superman‘s marketing blitz was seemingly more aggressive as Warner Bros. is hinging a new universe on this release and Marvel is already locking and loading Avengers: Doomsday, which should be a guaranteed moneymaker.
Marvel is also struggling to re-find its stride as the concentration with Thunderbolts* was to scale things down to a less overblown event film. The Fantastic Four: First Steps has a lot to establish as a stepping stone to Doomsday, with the actors set to return in their roles. So, the film attempts to find the balance in standing on its own and being part of a bigger picture without cheating the audience out of a satisfying conclusion. In Bumbray’s review, he has high hopes for the franchise as he said, “All in all, Fantastic Four: First Steps surprised me. I’ve been burned out on both Marvel and superhero films in general, but this one got me to care again. And for the first time in ages, a Marvel mid-credits scene actually got me excited about what’s next.”
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