While it may be waning at the box office,The Fantastic Four: First Stepshas already outsold an infamous DC Extended Universe movie.Led by Vanessa Kirby(Sue Storm), Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm), and Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm),First Stepsintroduced a new version of The Fantastic Four into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

First Stepshas stumbled at the box office, suffering a 60% drop this weekend on top of last week’s 66% drop. With sharply declining returns, it does not have anywhere close to the legs that Marvel has traditionally expected from each release. While it has stumbled, its opening weekend helped to usher in an immense $117.6 million domestic take.

The Thing looking into the camera in The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Thanks to that opening,First Stepshas surpassed DC’sJustice League(2017) in its third weekend, according to a report byThe Numbers. The latest MCU movie has reportedly earned $230 million domestically, whileJustice Leaguebrought in $229 million in its entire run. Despite concerns thatFirst Stepswas overly front-loaded, it has already surpassed a massive team-up release.

What This Milestone Means For Fantastic Four: First Steps

Justice Leaguewas ridiculed when it was first released, earning a 39% Tomatometer score onRotten Tomatoesand a 67% Popcornmeter score. The movie failed to have the commercial impact of any ofMarvel’sAvengersmovies, despite the DC Extended Universe’s desperate hopes to match the MCU’s success.

In all likelihood, Marvel was not hoping to compete withJustice Leaguewhen it first began developingFantastic Four: First Steps. Instead, the movie debuted after several box office disappointments from the studio, includingThe Marvels(2023),Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania(2023), andCaptain America: Brave New World(2025).

Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards in the MCU with a giant explosion in the background

Marvel’s next theatrical release will beSpider-Man: Brand New Day(2026), followed byAvengers: Doomsday(2026) andAvengers: Secret Wars(2027).

Marvel has still seen some successes in recent years, includingGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3(2023) andDeadpool & Wolverine(2024), but evenGuardiansstumbled compared to previous releases. The post-pandemic landscape has been relatively dismal for Marvel, and the studio is simply hoping to rebuild its reputation after its recent failures.

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Our Take On Fantastic Four: First Steps' Milestone

Justice Leaguewas near-universally reviled among critics, and it was so poorly received that audiences began campaigning for a cut from theoriginal director, Zack Snyder. If Marvel was hoping to rebuild its reputation, it should not be hoping to compete withJustice Leagueat all. Yet, this statistic still represents a positive shift for the studio.

First Stepsout-earnedThunderbolts*,Brave New World,The Marvels,Eternals, andAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniadomestically. It also received critical and audience acclaim, earning an 86% Tomatometer score and a 91% Popcornmeter score. While its box office is still shaky, these are good movements for a struggling MCU.

If the MCU is to recover beforeAvengers: Doomsday’s release, it needs to do so slowly. Every positively received release will help to rebuild the studio’s reputation, which will make the nextAvengersmovie more acceptable for viewers.The Fantastic Four: First Steps' milestone is not necessarily a game-changer, but it is a good sign for Marvel Studios.