Despite tough competition this summer, Marvel’sThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsis off to a bright start at the domestic box office. The superhero movie is facing an uphill climb, but positive reviews and anenthusiastic audience responseshould encourage walk-in business over the weekend.The Fantastic Fourgenerated around $57 million on opening day, which includes the $24 million that it made in Thursday previews. This puts it in the same ballpark as the holdover hitSuperman, which will slide to the number two spot this weekend after topping the charts since its debut.
The Fantastic Fouris currently projected to generate around $125 million in its domestic box office debut, putting it in a direct face-off againstSuperman, which made exactly the same amount in its first three days of release recently. Directed byJames Gunn,Supermanis nearing the $300 million mark domestically.The Fantastic Fouris directed by the relatively inexperienced (in the theatrical tent pole space)Matt Shakman, and has received positive reviews. It’s currently sitting at an 88% score on the aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “Benefitting from rock-solid cast chemistry and clad in appealingly retro 1960s design, this crack atThe Fantastic Fourdoes Marvel’s First Family justice.“The Fantastic Fourleads directly into next year’sAvengers: Doomsday, which should further pique the interest of general audiences.
Supermangrossed around $7 million in second place, taking its runningdomestic total past the $270 million mark. By Sunday, the movie should come within touching distance of the $300 million milestone domestically. The third spot was claimed byJurassic World Rebirth, which grossed over $3.5 million on its fourth Friday. Themovie has now grossed over $290 million domestically, and should pass the $300 million mark as early as today.Rebirthopened tomixed reviews, but the audience has proven once again that the franchise is practically critic-proof. Even the widely trashedJurassic World Dominionmade over $1 billion worldwide;Rebirthwill pass the $750 million mark this weekend.
The Holdover Flops Rounded Out the Top Five
Sony’sI Know What You Did Last Summerreboot generated $1.6 million on its second Friday, after an underwhelming debut last week. Thehorror film has grossed over $20 million domesticallyso far, and should hit the $25 million milestone by Sunday. The top five list was rounded out by Paramount’sSmurfs, which grossed a little over $1.5 million on its sophomore Friday. The poorly reviewed animated film hasn’t made much of an impact at the domestic box office so far, havinggrossed around $19 million. But it’s mainly geared towards international audiences, and the jury’s still out on its performance overseas. Stay tuned to Collider for more box office updates over the weekend.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
