‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ blasts off with $218m at global box office; ‘Superman’ and ‘F1’ both hit $500m

Worldwide box office: July 25-27

Credit: Comscore. All figures are estimates.

‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ delivers year’s best opening for Marvel

The Fantastic Four: First Steps has delivered the box office goods in its opening session for Disney/Marvel, with an estimated $118.0m in North America plus $100.0m for 52 international markets – combining at $218.0m.

A week ago, projections put the First Steps opening number into the $190-210m range, so the achieved outcome is slightly ahead.

Two weeks ago, Warner Bros estimated Superman’s global opening at $217m, revising the next day to report an actual $220m. First Steps has landed in between those two numbers, and it remains to be seen which of the summer’s two massive superhero heroes has actually achieved the biggest opening. Either way, it’s effectively a dead heat.

Previously for Marvel this year, Captain America: Brave New World debuted in mid-February with $180.9m worldwide, and Thunderbolts* launched in early May with $162.1m.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps delivered the biggest opening for a superhero film so far this year in both the Latin America and Europe regions. Asia is a relative frail spot, achieving the highest 2025 opening for the genre only in Malaysia and Singapore.

In individual markets, Mexico leads with an estimated $12.0m, ahead of UK/Ireland ($10.8m). Both territories are significantly ahead of third-placed France (an estimated $5.7m) and the chasing pack: Brazil ($5,1m), Australia ($4.8m), China ($4.5m), Italy ($4.3m), Spain ($3.1m), Germany ($3.0m), South Korea ($2.9m), India ($2.8m) and Japan ($2.5m).

As was the case with the Superman opening, populous nation Germany has been beaten by both Italy and Spain in the estimates. (In 2024, Germany ranked seventh in the global box office league table of nations, with Spain and Italy in 11th and 12th place.)

Imax achieved an estimated $26.6m worldwide with The Fantastic Four: First Steps – 12% of the total. In North America, premium formats including 3D, Imax, 4DX, D-Box, Screen X and exhibitor own brands totalled 46% of the box office.

Directed by Matt Shakman, and starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, First Steps is the third attempt to launch a Fantastic Four film franchise in the current century, and the first by Marvel, following two earlier iterations by 20th Century Fox.

According to available data, Tim Story’s Fantastic Four reached $333.5m worldwide in 2005, with Story’s sequel The Silver Surfer hitting $301.9m. The Josh Trank-directed reboot Fantastic Four fell brief in 2015 with a disappointing $167.9m. (These numbers are not adjusted for inflation.)

Disney now has a fairly clear run at audiences with First Steps – the next massive studio titles are Paramount’s comedy reboot The Naked Gun and Universal/DreamWorks’ The Bad Guys 2, which are followed by Disney’s Freakier Friday and Warner Bros/New Line’s Weapons. All have robust box office potential, but are not directly competitive in terms of genre. First Steps will also continue to compete with existing films in the market such as Superman.

Warner Bros’ ‘Superman’ and ‘F1’ both pass $500m worldwide

Warner Bros achieved its second and third $500m global hits of 2025 at the weekend, as both Superman and F1 (aka F1: The Movie) both passed the box office milestone. They join earlier Warner Bros/Legendary 2025 success A Minecraft Movie ($955m lifetime total).

Superman, now in its third week of play, added an estimated $44.6m worldwide at the weekend, taking the total to $502.7m. Apple Original Films’ F1, which is distributed by Warner Bros, added an estimated $26.2m, and the total is $509.7m.

For Superman, North America ($289.5m) remains ahead of international ($213.2m). UK/Ireland leads the international pack with $29.0m so far, ahead of Mexico ($20.3m), Brazil ($13.9m), Australia ($13.3m) and France ($11.5m).

With F1, the global popularity of Formula 1 motor racing is reflected in the numbers: international ($344.1m) is far ahead of North America ($165.6m), and China leads international markets with a powerful $51.4m. The top 10 international markets for F1 include six countries from Asia Pacific (China, South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, India and Japan), while the Middle East’s United Arab Emirates ranks 11th on the film. Ten international markets have grossed at least $10m with F1. With Superman, that number is currently just five.

So far this year, seven US studio films have reached $500m worldwide box office: joining the Warner Bros trio are Disney’s Lilo & Stitch, Universal’s Jurassic World Rebirth and How To Train Your Dragon, and the latest Mission: Impossible from Paramount. The Fantastic Four: First Steps will almost certainly be an eighth, and then there are more robust contenders arriving in Q4. For 2024, nine US studio films released that year grossed more than $500m worldwide. So far this year, nothing from US studios has matched Disney/Pixar’s 2024 winner Inside Out 2 ($1.70bn).

Going forward, Superman will likely pull ahead of F1, which is now in its fifth week of release. Superman is chasing the $670m lifetime gross of 2013 Superman adventure Man Of Steel (not adjusted for inflation). Superman is not on track to match 2016’s Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice ($874m) – a film that benefited from the inclusion of an equally billed Batman.

Chinese historical drama ‘Dead To Rights’ lands in third place globally

Grossing almost as much as Superman at the weekend, and more than both F1 and Jurassic World Rebirth, is Chinese novel release Dead To Rights. The historical drama, directed and co-written by Shen Ao (No More Bets), opened with an estimated $42.4m for the weekend period and $56.1m including previews. The film is set against the events of the Nanjing Massacre (1937-8), in which Chinese civilians, noncombatants and surrendered prisoners were killed by the Imperial Japanese army during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-45). (The number killed remains a matter of historical dispute – China Daily suggests 300,000.)

Dead To Rights is one of three Chinese films in the current global top 10 box office chart – alongside The Lychee Road and The Stage. Japan provides one film in the top 10 (anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaba Infinity Castle, which has reached $89.1m after two weekends of play) and so does India (Saiyaara, with $43.0m worldwide to date).

‘The Bad Guys 2’ hits first three markets

Universal/DreamWorks’ The Bad Guys 2 began its international rollout at the weekend, hitting major market UK/Ireland, plus also Argentina and Israel, and grossing an estimated $3.0m. UK/Ireland leads with an estimated $2.2m.

The animal caper is a sequel to 2022’s The Bad Guys, which is adapted from Aaron Blabey’s graphic novel series, and grossed $250.4m worldwide.

The Bad Guys 2 will enjoy a staggered rollout throughout the summer, including North America and another 55 international markets releasing this coming week.