Despite achieving a remarkable start that marked its strongest opening in several years, Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps is struggling to maintain the momentum that the studio had anticipated. In our earlier box office forecasts, we predicted that the film would generate approximately million over the weekend, which would have indicated a decline in the high-fifties to low-sixties percentage range. However, it appears that the film will only earn around $40 million, reflecting a steep drop of 66%—a figure that raises concerns among industry analysts. In contrast, James Gunn’s Superman exhibited a significantly better performance during its second weekend in theaters. These numbers align more closely with the disappointing patterns seen in Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania and Captain America: Brave New World. It seems that while MCU enthusiasts initially showed up for the premiere, they are not returning for repeat viewings. Moreover, it’s important to highlight that the movie faced minimal competition this weekend, suggesting it should have performed better than expected.
The competition for the second position in the box office rankings is proving to be rather uneventful, with The Bad Guys 2 projected to earn around $22 million—which mirrors the opening weekend earnings of the first installment. The underperformance of animated features such as Elio and Smurfs has likely paved the way for this sequel to resonate well with family audiences—provided they don’t choose to flock to Freakier Friday when it debuts next week.
Regarding The Naked Gun, the film is performing adequately. While it may not reach the blockbuster status that fans had hoped for, it is on track for an opening weekend revenue around $16 million, which is respectable for a comedy. Additionally, it achieved an A-minus CinemaScore, indicating that audiences are enjoying the film. This positive reception could very well lead to it becoming a sleeper hit driven by word-of-mouth recommendations from satisfied viewers.
Neon’s Together is also faring well, with projections suggesting it will secure about $10.5 million this weekend. This level of earnings should be sufficient for a sixth-place finish, although Superman and Jurassic World: Rebirth are likely to surpass it in daily box office performance.
We will return tomorrow with a comprehensive wrap-up of the box office results. What films are you planning to see this weekend? We invite you to share your thoughts in the comments below!
