Fantastic Four: First Steps Becomes Only 2025 MCU Movie To Hit Major Box Office Milestone

It’s no secret to Marvel fans who keep up with the box office that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been struggling as of late. Sure, Marvel Studios’ sole 2024 film release, Deadpool & Wolverine, was a big box office success, but the MCU’s box office performance in 2025 has been more muted. Captain America: Brave New World arrived in February to flat reviews, a lukewarm box office reception, and relatively weak ticket sales. Thunderbolts* received a warmer reception, but still failed to make back its budget, perhaps due to a lack of recognizable, marquee characters. However, The Fantastic Four: First Steps has managed to surpass both films, perhaps showing there’s still some life in the MCU yet.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie of 2025 to surpass $500 million worldwide. Having debuted in July, Marvel Studios’ first Fantastic Four movie has gone on to officially earn $506.3 million worldwide and counting, with the split between the film’s domestic and international totals being close to even ($265.8 million from North America, $240.5 million from overseas). Comparatively, Captain America: Brave New World has earned $415.1 million globally, and Thunderbolts* made $382.4 million.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ Box Office Could Get the MCU Back on Track

That The Fantastic Four: First Steps has crossed the $500 million mark worldwide is obviously a good sign for Marvel Studios and the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, it’s not an entirely rosy picture for the MCU. The Fantastic Four are the cornerstone of the Marvel Universe and have had three films released into theaters previously, making them one of Marvel’s most recognizable superhero teams among the general public. Marvel Studios finally getting to make a Fantastic Four movie after years of films that were moderately successful (2005’s Fantastic Four and its sequel, Rise of the Silver Surfer) or outright disastrous (the 2015 Fantastic Four reboot) should have generated huge amounts of buzz.

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But while The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the most successful Marvel Cinematic Universe movie of 2025, its $506.3 million box office haul is still short of what many hoped or expected for the MCU’s first adventure with Marvel’s First Family. The writing was on the wall when, after a reasonably strong opening weekend, The Fantastic Four: First Steps suffered a steep box office drop in its second weekend, a drop from which the Marvel Studios movie never really recovered.

Still, fans can choose to look at The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ latest box office achievement more optimistically. It’s a relatively strong note for the MCU to end 2025 on, and Marvel seems poised to build on that success in 2026 with the character-packed movies Spider-Man: Brand New Day, featuring not only the titular web-slinger but the Hulk and the Punisher as well, and Avengers: Doomsday, which sees the Fantastic Four back in action alongside the Thunderbolts New Avengers, the X-Men, and other Marvel favorites, with even Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool returning. With that lineup ahead, The Fantastic Four: First Steps could be the start of a snowball of box office success that will continue to grow as it rolls along for years to come.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is still playing in theaters. What do you think of its box office performance? Let us know in the comments.