By Gavin Boyle
THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS over-performed at the box office its opening weekend, boosted by a pro-family message at the center of a riveting, action-packed story.
“There’s a lot of pressure in wanting to do right by the characters, wanting to do right by [Jack] Kirby and [Stan] Lee, wanting to do right by all of the amazing comic writers who have been a part of developing this over the last 60-plus years,” director Matt Shackman said about THE FANTASTIC FOUR franchise.
“They are parents first,” Shackman added, explaining how he approached the characters of Mr. Fantastic and The Invisible Woman. “They are scientists and explorers second. And they’re superheroes only when they have to be. I come at this as a dad and as a husband. That’s what makes it so special to me.”
Audience valued this emphasis too, and the movie over-performed its expected opening of $100 to $110 million, grossing $118 million domestically and bringing in $218 million worldwide during its opening weekend. Though slightly behind SUPERMAN’s $220 million worldwide opening weekend, THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS’s debut paints a positive picture for the future of the movie, especially considering it was released only three weeks after SUPERMAN.
The movie has, by far, had the strongest opening for Marvel this year to date, and many audiences are thrilled with the movie’s more a stand-alone story that didn’t rely on viewers watching numerous other shows to understand the plot. Because of this, even viewers who aren’t diehard Marvel fans can enjoy everything FIRST STEPS has to offer. Furthermore, the movie’s heartwarming story of family and parenthood stands at the center of its action. A portion of Movieguide®’s review reads:
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THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS is one of the more entertaining, engaging, exciting superhero movies. It also has one of the most heartwarming, powerful premises in years, because it focuses on protecting the family. As such, it stresses the importance of fathers and mothers. THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS has a strong moral, pro-family, redemptive, patriotic worldview. The plot problem is solved by sacrifice, ingenuity and taking a stand against meaningless destruction. FIRST STEPS has lots of action violence, a scary villain and much peril involving an infant. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children.
The success of SUPERMAN and THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS puts superhero movies’ future in a positive light as they have seemed to die out in recent years. Though there have been a couple movies with breakout success since the end of Marvel’s phase three in 2019 with AVENGERS: ENDGAME, by and large, the genre has proven unsuccessful at pulling a large audience.
Having two superhero movies within the span of a month pull a major audience, though, suggests that the genre may have more life after all. This is incredibly good news for DC, who is relaunching its cinematic universe, and Marvel, who is entering into a new Avengers culmination.
While the days of guaranteed popularity may be over, this summer has proven that a well-made movie which promotes positive values can still be as successful as ever.
Read Next: Can SUPERMAN Fly High Its Second Weekend in Theaters?
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