The Fantastic Four First Steps box office collection day 3: MCU film scores Rs 20 cr opening weekend in India, can't match up to Superman, F1

Indian Express

6 hours ago

After James Gunn's Superman, Matt Shakman's The Fantastic Four: First Steps proves superheroes are here to stay. The Marvel film earned Rs 20.1 crore over its opening weekend at the Indian box office. While it opened on Friday at Rs 5.5 crore, it saw an increase on Saturday at Rs 7.35 crore and a slight dip on Sunday at Rs 7.25 crore across all four languages — English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu.
The opening weekend collection of The Fantastic Four: First Steps in India isn't bad, but it pales in comparison to that of other recent Hollywood tentpoles. Superman, starring David Corenswet as the titular DC superhero, earned over Rs 25 crore, whereas Joseph Kosinski's action thriller F1 collected over Rs 21 crore at the Indian box office in its opening weekend.
The first film about the Fantastic Four made under the guidance of Kevin Feige and the Walt Disney Co, also earned $118 million in North America during its first weekend. That makes it the fourth biggest opening of the year, behind A Minecraft Movie, Lilo & Stitch, and Superman, and the biggest Marvel opening since Deadpool & Wolverine grossed $211 million out of the gate last summer. Internationally, Fantastic Four made $100 million from 52 territories, adding up to a $218 million worldwide debut.
The film arrived in the wake of another big superhero reboot, James Gunn's Superman, which opened three weekends ago and has already crossed $500 million globally. That film, from the other main player in comic book films, DC Studios, took second place with $24.9 million domestically in the US. Jurassic World Rebirth landed in third place in its fourth weekend with $13 million, followed by F1 with $6.2 million. The Brad Pitt racing movie also passed $500 million globally. Smurfs rounded out the top five with $5.4 million in its second weekend.
First Steps is the latest attempt at bringing the superhuman family to the big screen, following lacklustre performances for other versions. The film, based on the original Marvel comics, is set during the 1960s in a retro-futuristic world led by the Fantastic Four, a family of astronauts-turned-superhumans from exposure to cosmic rays during a space mission.
The family is made up of Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal(, who can stretch his body to incredible lengths; Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), who can render herself invisible; Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), who transforms into a fiery human torch; and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who possesses tremendous superhuman strength with his stone-like flesh. The movie takes place four years after the family gained powers, during which Reed's inventions have transformed technology, and Sue's diplomacy has led to global peace.
The once towering Marvel is working to rebuild audience enthusiasm for its films and characters. Its two previous offerings this year did not reach the cosmic box office heights of Deadpool & Wolverine, which made over $1.3 billion, or those of the Avengers-era. But critically, the films have been on an upswing since the poorly reviewed Captain America: Brave New World, which ultimately grossed $415 million worldwide. Thunderbolts*, which jumpstarted the summer movie season, was better received critically, but financially is capping out at just over $382 million globally.
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Like Deadpool and Wolverine, the Fantastic Four characters had been under the banner of 20th Century Fox for years. The studio produced two critically loathed, but decently profitable attempts in the mid-2000s with future Captain America Chris Evans as the Human Torch. In 2015, it tried again (unsuccessfully) with Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller. They got another chance after Disney's $71 billion acquisition of Fox's entertainment assets in 2019.