{"id":116016,"date":"2025-08-03T16:25:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T16:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/116016\/"},"modified":"2025-08-03T16:25:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T16:25:10","slug":"fantastic-four-craters-naked-gun-debuts-to-16-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/116016\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Fantastic Four’ Craters, ‘Naked Gun’ Debuts to $16 Million"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tMarvel\u2019s First Family might not save the day after all. \u201cThe Fantastic Four: First Steps<\/a>\u201d is quickly losing steam in its second weekend, signaling the comic book adventure isn\u2019t connecting at the box office beyond the film\u2019s core demographic of superhero fans.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter a healthy $117.6 million debut, \u201cThe Fantastic Four\u201d suffered a hefty 66% drop in its sophomore outing with $40 million from 4,125 theaters. Heading into the weekend, box office analysts anticipated a decline of 55% to 60% from its opening. (By comparison, \u201cSuperman\u201d dropped by 53% in its second weekend after launching to $125 million earlier in July.) This painful a fall is surprising because \u201cThe Fantastic Four: First Steps\u201d has the benefit of positive reviews and word-of-mouth, as well as a clear runway in terms of competition.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlthough those ticket sales were enough to rank as No. 1 on North American charts, \u201cThe First Steps\u201d endured one of the steeper second-weekend drops for Disney\u2019s Marvel Cinematic Universe, better than \u201cThe Marvels\u201d (down 78%) but in the company of February\u2019s \u201cCaptain America: Brave New World\u201d (down 68%), 2023\u2019s \u201cAnt Man and the Wasp: Quantumania\u201d (down 70%) and 2022\u2019s \u201cThor: Love and Thunder\u201d (down 67%). <\/p>\n

\n\tSo far, \u201cFantastic Four\u201d has generated $198 million domestically and $368 million globally. Luckily for Marvel, whose output has been wildly inconsistent in post-pandemic times, \u201cThe First Steps\u201d is pacing to outgross this year\u2019s prior theatrical disappointments of \u201cCaptain America: Brave New World\u201d ($415 million globally) and \u201cThunderbolts\u201d ($382 million globally). The final tally for \u201cFantastic Four\u201d won\u2019t be disastrous, \u00e0 la \u201cThe Marvels\u201d ($206 million) or \u201cThunderbolts,\u201d but it\u2019s not yet a return to box office glory for Marvel. However, the MCU should officially regain its box office stride with its next three films \u2014 2026\u2019s \u201cSpider-Man: Brand New Day\u201d and \u201cAvengers: Doomsday\u201d and 2027\u2019s \u201cAvengers: Secret Wars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201c\u2018Fantastic Four\u2019 is not a top-tier Marvel franchise. Never has been,\u201d says analyst Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations<\/a>. \u201cRemember, this ramps up into \u2018Avengers.\u2019 That\u2019s the real payoff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThree new movies opened nationwide but none were competing for the same audience as \u201cFantastic Four.\u201d Among new releases, Universal and DreamWorks Animation\u2019s heist comedy \u201cThe Bad Guys 2<\/a>\u201d enjoyed the strongest start with $22.8 million from 3,852 venues. That\u2019s directly even with the first film, which opened to $23 million in 2022 at a time when cinemas were majorly struggling to recover from COVID and studios were barely releasing any movies. The original film eventually powered to $250 million worldwide. \u201cThe Bad Guys 2,\u201d which cost $80 million and follows a group of reformed criminals who relapse for one final con job, was embraced by audiences with an \u201cA\u201d grade on CinemaScore exit polls. Overseas, \u201cThe Bad Guys 2\u201d landed with $16.3 million for a global total of $44.5 million. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis is a good opening for an animation sequel,\u201d says analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. \u201cWith this kind of business, the movie is doing what it\u2019s supposed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAt No. 3, Paramount\u2019s slapstick comedy \u201cThe Naked Gun<\/a>\u201d debuted to $17 million from 3,344 theaters, right in line with projections. The film earned another $11.5 million at the international box office, bringing its global tally to $28.5 million. It\u2019s a promising start given the dearth of theatrical comedies. Akiva Schaffer of the Lonely Island fame directed the film, which carries a $42 million price tag. <\/p>\n

\n\tCritics and moviegoers dug \u201cThe Naked Gun,\u201d in which Liam Neeson stars as bumbling L.A. detective Frank Drebin Jr. (son of the late Leslie Nielsen\u2019s Frank Drebin, his predecessor in the \u201cNaked Gun\u201d trilogy) alongside Pamela Anderson and Paul Walter Hauser. The movie scored an \u201cA-\u201d grade on CinemaScore and boasts a 90% average on Rotten Tomatoes, both of which should bode well for the remainder of its theatrical run. \u201cThe Naked Gun\u201d appealed almost squarely to older white men; 62% of initial crowds were male, 50% were above 35 years old and 70% were Caucasian.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThis weekend\u2019s final newcomer, Neon\u2019s body-horror nightmare \u201cTogether<\/a>\u201d landed in sixth place with $6.8 million over the traditional weekend and an encouraging $10.8 million during its first five days of release. Real-life husband and wife Dave Franco and Alison Brie star in \u201cTogether\u201d as a co-dependent couple who become frightningly close after a mysterious force causes horrific body changes. Audiences gave the film a \u201cC+\u201d on CinemaScore, though that harsh a grade isn\u2019t surprising since they likely left the theater feeling very disturbed. In fact, Neon has been leaning into the on-screen trauma to promote the movie, offering free couple\u2019s therapy<\/a> for partners who see \u201cTogether\u201d during opening weekend. Neon shelled out $17 million to buy the movie at Sundance, marking one of the richest deals in the festival\u2019s history. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cA lukewarm audience score is typical of these films and generally has little effect on how they play out,\u201d Gross says. \u201cIt\u2019s [a] smart horror production that\u2019s going to be profitable when it\u2019s finished.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tElsewhere at the box office, \u201cSuperman\u201d descended to fourth place with $13.9 million in its fourth weekend of release. The Warner Bros. and DC Studios adaptation has generated $316.2 million domestically and $551.2 million globally to date.<\/p>\n

\n\tUniversal\u2019s \u201cJurassic World Rebirth\u201d rounded out the top five with $8.4 million in its fifth weekend of release. The dinosaur epic, which rebooted the long-running property with Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali, has grossed $317 million in North America and $766 million globally. <\/p>\n

\n\tOverall the box office is 9.5% ahead of last year but 23% behind 2019, the last pre-pandemic year, according to Comscore. Summer revenues just hit $3 billion from May through early August, so it\u2019s a question of whether this could be the second summer in post-COVID times \u2014 the year of \u201cBarbenheimer\u201d was the first \u2014 to cross the $4 billion milestone.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cA\u00a0solid home stretch of the summer is in the cards,\u201d predicts senior Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian. \u201cThe $4 billion benchmark is still about a $1 billion away, which is no cake walk but potentially in play.\u201d<\/p>\n