‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Set to Smash Past $500M Worldwide on $200M Budget

The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s latest big-screen adventure, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, is on track to make a huge mark at the box office. Industry estimates suggest the film could finish its theatrical run with between $520 million and $570 million worldwide, according to box office tracking sources.

As of August 3, 2025, the movie has already earned $198.4 million in the United States and Canada, and another $170.3 million overseas. That puts its total haul so far at $368.7 million.

The movie stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn as the iconic superhero team. They are joined by Julia Garner, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, and Ralph Ineson. Set in a retro-futuristic version of the 1960s, the story follows the Fantastic Four as they face off against Galactus, a cosmic force played by Ineson who threatens to devour the planet.

Leading up to its release, box office projections expected the movie to earn between $100 million and $110 million domestically, with an extra $90 million to $100 million coming from international markets in its opening weekend. The movie kicked things off with a massive $24.4 million from Thursday previews, the biggest preview haul of 2025, beating even Superman’s debut just two weeks earlier.

On opening day, it pulled in $57 million, making it the second-biggest opening day of the year behind A Minecraft Movie. By the end of the weekend, it had raked in $117.6 million domestically and $216.7 million worldwide.

However, the second weekend told a different story. The film dropped 80% on its second Friday, bringing in just $11.7 million. This is the biggest Friday-to-Friday drop for a comic book movie this year, as Captain America: Brave New World was at 68%.

The budget for The Fantastic Four: First Steps was reported to be over $200 million, which is typical for Marvel productions.

Hollywood’s general rule for blockbusters says a movie needs to make at least two to two-and-a-half times its production budget to break even. For this film, that means it needed to gross around $400 to $500 million worldwide before turning a profit.

With the movie now on track to pass $500 million, Marvel looks set to make a solid return, despite the sharp second-weekend drop. The next big question is whether the Fantastic Four’s reboot will have strong enough legs to push toward the higher end of its projected range before it leaves theaters.

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