Fantastic Four's International Box Office Is Far From Fantastic -- But Not A Disaster

Will Fox find a way to turn a profit on Fantastic Four, even though it's currently poised to [...]

By Russ Burlingame

Will Fox find a way to turn a profit on Fantastic Four, even though it's currently poised to bomb domestically?

It's entirely possible, with the growing importance of the international box office...but it won't be easy.

According to Exhibitor Relations, about half of the international territories have reported in with box office numbers, and Fantastic Four has so far accounted for $34.5 million in ticket sales.

On a $120 million budget, that puts the film on pace to recoup more than half of its initial expenses this weekend worldwide, but that of course doesn't consider marketing and other associated costs. Those weren't insignificant for the film, especially given the media blitz of the last couple of weeks, which included original viral content in addition to significant TV and web advertising.

Of course, all ER says is that 50% of territories have responded. Depending on the size and strategic importance of those territories, it could tell a better or worse story for the film. It's likely that the biggest and most important territories have already checked in and the final international tally will be closer to $50 million than $70 million...but that's all speculation on our part.

The film will likely need to generate about $200 to $250 million worldwide in order to be profitable -- a tall order when just this morning experts were speculating that it might not make more than about $60 million at the domestic box office.

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