The Fantastic Four: First Steps' arrival on Disney+ rewrote its theatrical history in a major way. Alike all three of Marvel Studios' 2025 movies, the Fantasticar struggled to take flight at the box office. The movie brought in $274.29 million domestically and $247.57 million internationally, for a worldwide box office total of $521.86 million, the highest for a Fantastic Four movie, but one of the MCU's lower earners.
As The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrived on Disney+, the streamer promoted the MCU's latest flick with the tagline, "Watch the Box Office Hit Now." While Marvel Studios may be rewriting history to give its first Phase 6 blockbuster this "Box Office Hit" title, the evidence certainly doesn't support as such.
The MCU's Fantastic Four reboot reportedly came with a $200 million production budget (not including marketing). As theater chains take a sizable cut of its box office gross, First Steps' break even point landed at $400 to $500 million.
With The Fantastic Four bringing in $521.86 million worldwide, it likely profited somewhere between $20 and $120 million. That's not to say its done earning, as further revenue will be generated from home releases, streaming, and merch.
The Fantastic Four sits at the MCU's 26th-best (12th-worst) global box office performance. That said, it outperformed Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World to become Marvel Studios' best performer of the year, and the 10th-highest-grossing movie of the year overall.
Meanwhile, First Steps landed well with fans and critics alike, acrueing a 86% critic and 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, with an A- CinemaScore.
While it wasn't quite a flop and, most likely, earned its full production and marketing budgets back, labelling The Fantastic Four a "Box Office Hit" is undeniably a leap from Disney, as most would call it a mediocre performance at best.
The Fantastic Four 2 May Finally Give Marvel's First Family a Big Win
Fortunately, one box office dissapointment from Marvel's First Family wasn't enough to slow down Disney, as The Fantastic Four 2 is reportedly already in development, bringing back the 2025 cast and director Matt Shakman.
In the past, sequels such as Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness caught a hefty box office boost on their predecessor after their starring hero became a fan-favorite in an Avengers movie.
The Fantastic Four will officially return in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars with some brand-new, updated costumes from their 2025 solo debut. Marvel Studios may be hoping that the team's roles in these massive blockbusters can bolster their chances at box office glory in the next saga.
Additionally, as The Fantastic Four earned solid reviews, the 2025 dissapointment will be opened up to a whole new audience Disney+ who may have swerved the expensive theatrical trip but give it a chance on streaming.
