The Fantastic Four: First Steps Pulls Ahead Of Infamous DCEU Team-Up Film At The Domestic Box Office
Although its theatrical momentum is fading, The Fantastic Four: First Steps has already outgrossed a notorious DC Extended Universe title. Fronted by Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm), Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm), and Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm), First Steps ushers a fresh iteration of The Fantastic Four into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
First Steps has struggled in theaters, sliding 60% this weekend after a 66% fall the week prior. With such steep declines, it lacks the staying power Marvel has historically banked on from its films. Even so, that debut frame delivered a hefty $117.6 million domestic haul.
That start propelled First Steps past DC's Justice League (2017) by its third weekend, according to a report by The Numbers. The newest MCU entry has reportedly reached $230 million domestically, compared with Justice League’s $229 million over its entire run. So even with worries that First Steps was heavily front-loaded, it has already topped a major team-up title.
What This Milestone Signals For Fantastic Four: First Steps
Justice League drew ridicule on release, landing a 39% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 67% Popcornmeter score. The film never achieved the commercial punch of Marvel’s Avengers movies, despite the DC Extended Universe’s hopes of matching the MCU’s success.
Chances are, Marvel never set out to measure itself against Justice League when it first began developing Fantastic Four: First Steps. Instead, the movie arrived after several box office disappointments for the studio, including The Marvels (2023), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), and Captain America: Brave New World (2025).
Marvel has still logged some wins in recent years—Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) among them—but even Guardians stumbled relative to earlier releases. The post-pandemic marketplace has been tough for Marvel, and the studio is aiming to rebuild its reputation after a rough run.
Ramifications of Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Milestone
Justice League was near-universally reviled by critics, so much so that audiences campaigned for a cut from the original director, Zack Snyder. If Marvel is trying to repair its image, Justice League shouldn’t be the yardstick. Even so, this statistic marks a positive shift for the studio.
First Steps out-earned Thunderbolts*, Brave New World, The Marvels, Eternals, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania domestically. It also scored with critics and audiences, earning an 86% Tomatometer and a 91% Popcornmeter score. While its box office remains shaky, these are encouraging signs for a struggling MCU.
If the MCU is to recover before Avengers: Doomsday’s release, it will need to do so gradually. Each positively received entry helps rebuild the studio’s standing, making the next Avengers movie more palatable to viewers. The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ milestone isn’t a revolution, but it’s a welcome indicator for Marvel Studios.
Source: ScreenRant
