Fantastic Four Passes the Best Harry Potter Movie at the Box Office

The Fantastic Four: First Steps has had a somewhat uneven box office run. After exceeding projections by earning $117.6 million domestically in its opening weekend, the film saw a steep second weekend decline and fell behind some of this year’s other notable summer blockbusters. Still, First Steps is Marvel’s most commercially successful film of 2025, and it’s climbed its way up the all-time box office charts over the past month. Over the course of its run, First Steps has passed several other notable franchise films, and now that the latest numbers are in, it’s just beaten what is widely considered the best Harry Potter movie.

As of Wednesday, August 20th, The Fantastic Four: First Steps has grossed approximately $250.4 million domestically. That narrowly edges out the $250.1 million 2004’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban earned. It’s only a matter of time before First Steps passes the likes of Men in Black ($250.6 million) and Night at the Museum ($250.8 million) and cement a place in the top 160 highest-grossing films of all time.

How Fantastic Four‘s Box Office Run Compares to Prisoner of Azkaban

What’s interesting is that it took Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban multiple releases to hit $250 million in the United States. During its original theatrical run, it grossed $249.5 million. It tacked on some extra cash thanks to the Harry Potter IMAX marathon and other re-releases that have taken place over the past decade. Of course, First Steps has earned all of its money in its initial release. It hit $250.4 million after 27 days in theaters. At that same point in its first run, Prisoner of Azkaban grossed $215.8 million, unadjusted for inflation.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps had a bigger opening weekend than Prisoner of Azkaban, but the Wizarding World threequel had stronger legs. After earning $93.6 million domestically in its debut, Prisoner of Azkaban dropped 62.7% in its second weekend. That’s a better hold than First Steps, which fell 67.1% after a strong opening.

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First Steps and Prisoner of Azkaban are in the same ballpark on the all-time domestic charts, but worldwide grosses tell a very different story. The Harry Potter film was much more of a draw overseas, earning $795.6 million globally. As of this writing, First Steps has made $472.6 million worldwide, so Prisoner of Azkaban is the clear winner in that regard. It shows how much box office business has changed over the years. Film studios can’t always rely on strong showings internationally to boost numbers. First Steps has made more in the U.S. than overseas territories. Harry Potter earned only 30.9% of its lifetime total domestically.

The next Harry Potter movie ahead of The Fantastic Four: First Steps on the all-time domestic chart is 2002’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which grossed $262.6 million. With a little over $12 million separating the two, First Steps has a decent change to pass Chamber of Secrets before its run is done. Business has slowed down for Fantastic Four, but it earned $9 million in theaters last weekend, and the rest of August doesn’t have much in the way of high-profile releases. First Steps should be able to take advantage of a weaker marketplace and climb up higher on the charts.