“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” partial promotional poster featuring Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Pedro Pascal and Joseph Quinn.
Disney/Marvel Studios
Disney and Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps, starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, has officially ended its run in theaters.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps marks the fifth big-screen iteration chronicling the adventures of Marvel’s First Family of Superheroes, which is, if you count late producer Roger Corman’s unreleased Fantastic Four movie from 1994.
Officially, the first Fantastic Four movie— starring Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis and Julian McMahon — was released in 2005, and the cast, with the addition of Doug Jones, returned for Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer in 2007. After that, the franchise’s then-studio 20th Century Fox released a Fantastic Four reboot in 2015, starring Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell and Toby Kebbell.
Directed by WandaVision helmer Matt Shakman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps was released in theaters on July 25 and pivoted to digital streaming via premium video on demand debut on Sept. 23. Last week, Disney+ announced that the film will make its streaming debut on the platform on Nov. 5.
While The Fantastic Four: First Steps got off to a seemingly solid start by earning $117.6 million at the domestic box office in its first Friday to Sunday frame, the film took a disastrous drive in its second weekend in North American theaters with a 67% drop in ticket sales and never recovered.
According to box office tracker The Numbers, The Fantastic Four: First Steps ended its domestic run on Oct. 23, when it earned $436 in its 91st day of release to bring its final North American tally to $274,286,610.
Combined with the film’s international take of $246.350,312, the worldwide box office tally of The Fantastic Four: First Steps ended up at $520,636,922.
According to The Numbers, the production budget for the film was $200 million. However, Variety reported that the budget came in “somewhere north of $200 million,” but noted that Disney did not report an exact number it spent on the film.
Pedro Pascal in “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.”
Disney/Marvel Studios
How Much Will ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Clear?
Given that most films generally split their box office earnings 50-50 with theater owners — a percentage often reported by the major trade publications, including Variety — it stands to reason that Disney grossed about $260.3 million in ticket sales.
As such, if you use the conservative estimate of $200 million as the film’s production budget, that leaves the film about $60 million in the black before marketing costs.
Whether The Fantastic Four: First Steps ends its theatrical run in the black or red, though, depends on how much the film’s said marketing budget was. However, since none of the major trades nor the studio reported how much the film’s marketing costs were, there’s no way to officially determine whether the film ended its theatrical run in the black or red.
If the number is anywhere near the reported $100 million Disney spent to market its first summer superhero release, Thunderbolts* (via Variety), then the outlook isn’t looking too fantastic for the latest Fantastic Four movie when considering its overall theatrical take.
After marketing, there are other pluses and minuses to take into account for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Disney will have to pay out residuals and other miscellaneous expenses, yet at the same time, the studio will recoup money through licensing deals for merchandise, as well as PVOD and Disney+ streaming revenues down the line.
For those who missed The Fantastic Four: First Steps in theaters, the film is currently available on to purchase or rent on PVOD and is coming to streaming video on demand on Disney+ next month.