“Fantastic Four” Soars to box Office Success, Outshining Superhero Fatigue

The latest installment of Marvel’s “Fantastic Four,” titled “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” is making waves at the box office, drawing in both families and dedicated fans. The film, which sees the titular heroes return to space when Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer warns of Earth’s impending destruction by Galactus, has garnered overwhelmingly positive reactions from audiences. It boasts an remarkable A- CinemaScore, strong exit polls on PostTrak, and a 93 percent audience score on Rotten tomatoes, mirroring the success of “Superman.”

Critics are praising the film’s return to a more character-driven narrative. Hollywood Reporter chief film critic David Rooney noted in his review that “The pleasing back-to-basics feel in ‘the Fantastic Four: First Steps’ suggests Marvel has learned valuable lessons from its recent box office underperformers. There’s a fresh willingness to prioritize character over the usual barrage of interchangeable CG action sequences that frequently enough overwhelm them, rather giving us relatable folks to invest in.” This focus on relatable characters is seen as a key factor in combating the prevailing superhero fatigue at the box office.

In other box office news, “Superman” has surpassed the $500 million global mark in its third week of release.The film earned $24.9 million domestically and $19.8 million internationally over the weekend, bringing its North American total to $289.5 million and its overseas earnings to $213.2 million, for a worldwide total of $502.7 million.

Universal and Amblin’s “Jurassic World: Rebirth” is also celebrating a important achievement, crossing the $300 million domestic threshold in its fourth weekend. The film had previously cleared $600 million globally a week prior.

Apple Original Films’ “F1: The Movie” has also achieved an unexpected milestone, surpassing $500 million worldwide. The Formula One documentary secured fourth place domestically over the weekend with $6.2 million, bringing its domestic total to $165.6 million. Internationally, it added $20 million, contributing to a foreign total of $344.1 million and a global sum of $509.7 million.

Simultaneously occurring, Paramount’s “Smurfs” reboot experienced a decline in its second weekend, dropping 51 percent to $5.4 million, for a 10-day domestic tally of $22.8 million. Similarly, Columbia and TriStar’s “I Know What You Did Last Summer” saw a steeper drop of 60 percent in its sophomore outing, earning $5.1 million for a domestic total of $23.6 million.