Marvel’s ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Review

Marvel’s ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Takes Center Stage

The Man of Steel has met his match.

Marvel Studios’ long-awaited reboot of the Fantastic Four has arrived with a bang, projected to earn up to $135 million domestically in its opening box-office weekend and knocking out James Gunn‘s blockbuster Superman reboot from the top slot. Directed by Matt Shakman of WandaVision fame and starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn, The Fantastic Four: First Steps marks the first time that Marvel’s First Family has been fully integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe following Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019.

The revamped take on Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm is already receiving acclaim, boasting an 89 percent certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes — the franchise’s best to date. This success is no small feat, as previous iterations of the Fantastic Four never caught fire with fans or critics. The 2005 and 2007 Fox films were financially adequate but critically derided, and the 2015 reboot was widely panned, grossing only $167 million worldwide.

With a $200 million-plus production budget, First Steps represents not just a chance to redeem the property, but an essential victory for Marvel at a time when recent releases — including Thunderbolts and Captain America: Brave New World — have struggled to meet expectations.

In comparison to other superhero tentpoles this year, First Steps has outshone Marvel’s prior installments and is drawing near Warner Bros.’ Superman, which debuted at $125 million domestically and $217 million globally. However, the MCU reboot falls short of last year’s R-rated juggernaut, Deadpool & Wolverine, which exploded out of the gate with $211 million domestically during its opening weekend.

Marvel pulled out all the stops for First Steps, hosting flashy launches in Berlin, Paris, London, and Sydney — topping it all off with a star-studded Hollywood premiere featuring a drone show and live orchestra conducted by Michael Giacchino. With favorable critical reception and a lack of immediate blockbuster competition, The Fantastic Four: First Steps may just be the box-office win that restores Marvel Studios’ commercial momentum.

More muted releases this weekend include Sony’s rom-com Oh, Hi! and Lionsgate’s horror flick The Home, both of which are expected to debut outside the top five. Instead, holdovers from previous weeks are projected to dominate the box office. Superman is on track to earn up to $30 million in its third week, followed by Universal’s Jurassic World Rebirth with up to $15 million. Warner Bros./Apple Studios’ F1: The Movie is anticipated to bring in around $6 million, while Sony’s I Know What You Did Last Summer and Paramount’s Smurfs are competing for fifth place, each projected to gross just over $5 million.

New Releases

The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Director: Matt Shakman
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios
Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, the Fantastic Four must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer. The Marvel adventure has a running time of one hour, 55 minutes, and is rated PG-13. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is certified “fresh” with an 89 percent score per the aggregated critic reviews at Rotten Tomatoes; “generally favorable” reviews compiled by Metacritic resulted in an overall score of 64 percent.

Oh, Hi!
Director: Sophie Brooks
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Iris and Isaac’s first romantic weekend getaway goes awry in a most unexpected way. The romantic comedy, starring Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman, has a running time of one hour, 35 minutes, and is rated R. Oh, Hi! is certified “fresh” with a 62 percent score per the aggregated critic reviews at Rotten Tomatoes; “generally favorable” reviews compiled by Metacritic resulted in an overall score of 63 percent.

The Home
Director: James DeMonaco
Distributor: Lionsgate
After starting work at a retirement home, Max soon realizes that the residents and caretakers are hiding sinister secrets. The horror flick, starring Pete Davidson, John Glover, Bruce Altman, and Ethan Phillips, has a running time of one hour, 37 minutes, and is rated R. The Home is certified “rotten” with a 29 percent score per the aggregated critic reviews at Rotten Tomatoes; “mixed or average” reviews compiled by Metacritic resulted in an overall score of 46 percent.

Here are Gold Derby’s predicted box-office rankings for the top five:

1. The Fantastic Four: First Steps
2. Superman
3. Jurassic World Rebirth
4. F1: The Movie
5. I Know What You Did Last Summer

Do you agree or disagree with those rankings? Make your predictions right now — it’s fun and easy!