‘Fantastic Four’ $218 Million Opening Box Office Has Already Beat ‘Superman'

It's been a while since two massive superhero movies have both opened during the same month. Just a few weeks after James Gunn's 2025 Superman hit theaters, Matt Shakman's The Fantastic Four: First Steps has arrived. Like Superman, early reviews for The Fantastic Four have been very strong, and, if you just look at Rotten Tomatoes, actually slightly stronger than Superman. (The RT score for Superman is holding at 83, while Fantastic Four is at 87.) And now, in terms of its opening, worldwide box office take, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is actually ahead of where Superman was at the same point. 

Fantastic Four's fantastic opening box office

As of Sunday, July 27, The Fantastic Four: First Steps has grossed $218 million for its global opening, which is 11 percent ahead of Superman's global opening two weeks ago, according to Deadline. This is slightly above expectations, and is the strongest opening for a Marvel Studios movie this year. This is also interesting, considering that Superman had a full extra day for its opening; exclusive, early Amazon screenings happened a full three days before the regular weekend debut, which means, in theory, Superman had more opportunity to make money in longer period of time. 

Related: 'Fantastic Four' Review: A Gorgeous, Near-Perfect Instant Marvel Classic

A new hope for Marvel?

First Steps had an overall budget of $200 million, meaning, even if its box office take drops 50 percent next weekend (unlikely!), it will still be fairly profitable for Marvel. As of this writing, the most profitable Marvel movie this year was Captain America: Brave New World, which, despite getting very mixed reviews (46 percent on RT) took in $415 million at the global box office. Still, the perception that Brave New World was a failure seems to have hurt the performance of Thunderbolts* in May. 

But now, with First Steps cruising toward a better-than-expected opening weekend, it seems that it's far too early to declare Marvel Studios on the ropes. DC Studio's Superman has grossed roughly $500 million worldwide at this point, which is huge, especially for a post-COVID superhero reboot. But again, First Steps already has a stronger start than the Man of Steel.

Arguably, its been quite a long time since Marvel and DC went head-to-head like this. In 2016 DC's Batman v. Superman hit theaters in March, while Marvel's Captain America: Civil War hit theaters in May. Back then, Batman v. Superman took home $873.6 million, while Captain America: Civil War dominated with $1.153 billion. 

Have fortunes reversed? Is DC emerging as the dominant superhero franchise, based on the reasonable success of Superman? Maybe. But, with Fantastic Four coming out of the gate swinging (or clobbering?) it's too early to say which direction this race will go. And since The Fantastic Four is setting up Avengers: Doomsday next year, Marvel could be laying the groundwork for another billion dollar blockbuster in the near future.

Superman and The Fantastic Four: First Steps are both in theaters now.

Related: Why 'Superman's' Rotten Tomatoes Score Dropped 8 Points After Debut