‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Suffers Biggest Second-Weekend Drop in MCU History

“Fantastic Four: First Steps” is still holding on to the top spot at the box office in its second weekend, but the numbers tell a different story. The film saw a massive drop in ticket sales, the biggest second-weekend fall in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

According to studio estimates, the movie made about $11.7 million domestically on its second Friday. That’s an 80% drop from its $118 million opening weekend. If this slow turnout continues through Sunday, the film will likely end the weekend well below its earlier estimates of $45 to $52 million for weekend two.

Right now, it’s sitting at about $170 million in total domestic earnings and could hit around $198 million by Sunday. Marvel reportedly spent more than $200 million to make the film, so it still has a long way to go before breaking even.

This big drop means “Fantastic Four: First Steps” has now taken an unwanted MCU record. The previous biggest second-weekend fall belonged to The Marvels with a 78% drop, followed by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania at 70%. Even Captain America’s 68% decline now looks small by comparison.

The movie stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn as Marvel’s famous superhero family. It was meant to be the studio’s first big win for a new team since the pandemic, especially after misses like Thunderbolts* earlier this year, The Marvels in 2023, and Eternals in 2021. But so far, the film seems to be attracting mainly comic book fans instead of a wider audience.

Worldwide, the movie has made about $269 million as of August 1, with $170.1 million from the United States and Canada and $99.1 million from other countries.

The reviews have been kinder than the box office. On Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 360 critics gave it a positive review, with the site’s critics consensus saying, “Benefitting from rock-solid cast chemistry and clad in appealingly retro 1960s design, this crack at The Fantastic Four does Marvel’s First Family justice.” On Metacritic, the movie holds a score of 65 out of 100, meaning “generally favorable” reviews. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave it an A−, which shows that the people who are watching it seem to like it.

Still, for Marvel, this record-breaking drop is a reminder that even their most famous names can struggle to hold momentum after opening weekend.

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