'Fantastic Four' scores Marvel's first $100-M box office opening of '25

Marvel's first family has finally found box office gold. "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," the first film about the superheroes made under the guidance of Kevin Feige and the Walt Disney Co., earned $118 million in its first weekend in 4,125 North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.

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That makes it the fourth biggest opening of the year, behind "A Minecraft Movie," "Lilo & Stitch" and "Superman," and the biggest Marvel opening since "Deadpool & Wolverine" grossed $211 million out of the gate last summer. Internationally, "Fantastic Four" made $100 million from 52 territories, adding up to a $218 million worldwide debut. The numbers were within the range the studio was expecting.

The film arrived in the wake of another big superhero reboot, James Gunn's "Superman," which opened three weekends ago and has already crossed $500 million globally. That film, from the other main player in comic book films, DC Studios, took second place with $24.9 million domestically.

The box office success of "First Steps" and "Superman" means "the whole notion of superhero fatigue, which has been talked about a lot, can I think, be put to rest. I always say it's bad movie fatigue, not superhero fatigue," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore.

"First Steps" is the latest attempt to bring the superhuman family to the big screen, following the lackluster performances of other versions. The film, based on the original Marvel Comics, is set during the 1960s in a retro-futuristic world led by the Fantastic Four, a family of astronauts-turned-superhumans who were exposed to cosmic rays during a space mission.