First Steps’ Slows Down Box Office Skid Over Weekend
Ebon Moss-Bachrach in “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.”
Disney/Marvel Studios
Disney and Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps is getting a bit of a reprieve at this weekend’s domestic box office following a rough past couple of weeks at the box office.
Directed by Matt Shakman and starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Marvel’s First Family of Superheroes, The Fantastic Four got off to a strong start July 25-27 with $115.6 million in North American ticket sales.
Disaster soon followed, though, as The Fantastic Four earned only $38.6 million domestically in its second weekend frame, Aug. 1-3, marking a 67% drop in ticket sales. The film then went on to suffer another 59% drop in its third weekend frame when Monday’s final box office numbers were revealed — down a percentage point from weekend estimates — with $15.7 million domestically.
The Fantastic Four’s cascading slide in the past two weekends began to slow down a bit Aug. 15-17, as the film dropped 44% in business with a projected domestic take of $8.8 million in its fourth weekend frame for a fourth-place finish, Deadline reported.
If the $8.8 million projection holds, it will boost The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ running domestic tally to $247 million.
By contrast, The Fantastic Four’s summer superhero movie competitor — director James Gunn’s Superman — earned $316 million through its fourth weekend in theaters. Combining The Fantastic Four’s $247 million domestic tally and its international take of nearly $204.6 million, the film has earned $461.6 million at the worldwide box office so far.
To date, Warner Bros. and DC Studios’ Superman — which finished at No. 6 this weekend with a Friday to Sunday estimated take of $5.2 million — has earned $340.9 million.
Combined with the film’s $251.7 million in international ticket sales, Superman has earned $592.6 million at the box office worldwide. The film’s Friday to Sunday take was down only 34% from last weekend, which is interesting considering that the film debuted on digital streaming via premium video on demand on Friday.
Julia Garner in “Weapons.”
Warner Bros. Pictures
Weapons Holds Off ‘Freaky Friday’ And ‘Nobody 2’ For The Top Spot At The Domestic Box Office
Writer-director Zach Cregger’s horror thriller Weapons is projected by Deadline to take the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office for the second consecutive weekend with $25 million.
Should the film’s projected take — which marks only a 44% drop in business from its opening weekend — hold, it will boost Weapons’ 10-day domestic tally to $89 million.
Disney’s Freakier Friday, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, once again nabbed the No. 2 spot at the box office in its second weekend with a projected $14.5 million in North American ticket sales. Should that projection hold, it will up the family comedy’s 10-day tally to $54.7 million.
Bob Odenkirk’s crime comedy Nobody 2 made an estimated $9.25 million in its opening weekend, Deadline reported. Produced by Universal Pictures, Nobody 2 is the sequel to the 2021 action comedy hit Nobody.
Following the fourth place Fantastic Four: First Steps in the No. 5 slot is Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s family comedy The Bad Guys 2, which, per Deadline, earned an estimated $7.5 million. Should the projection hold, it will boost The Bad Guys 2’s running domestic tally to $57.2 million.
The final numbers for this weekend’s box office will be released on Monday.