The Fantastic Four: First Steps Takes Over Thunderbolts* At The Worldwide Box Office (Photo Credit –Facebook)
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Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps brings the First Family officially into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, kicking off Phase Six and setting the stage for the upcoming Avengers films, Doomsday, and Secret Wars. This movie is the third adaptation of the comic series and carries the weight of a fresh start without needing much background knowledge from previous MCU projects.
Fantastic Four: First Steps vs Thunderbolts: Box Office Performance
The Fantastic Four had a slow start after early excitement. Still, it just achieved a notable win by beating Thunderbolts at the box office. Both movies came out in 2025 and faced challenges drawing crowds despite good reviews.
First Steps earned more than $389 million worldwide, narrowly passing Thunderbolts, which closed at $382.4 million, per Box Office Mojo. However, both trails behind Captain America: Brave New World, which earned $415.1 million and came closer to making a profit.
Audience & Critic Scores For Marvel’s 2025 Releases
Both critics and fans liked First Steps and Thunderbolts*. First Steps holds an 86% approval from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a 91% audience score. Thunderbolts scored even better, with an 88% critic rating and 93% audience approval. Despite its stronger box office, both movies scored higher than Brave New World, which struggled with only a 46% critic score and 76% from the audience.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Joins Top 10 Highest-Grossing Movies Of The Year (So Far)
Marvel’s First Family also made it into the Top 10 highest-grossers of 2025, edging out Thunderbolts to sit in ninth place. Check out the list of the 10 highest-grossing movies of 2025 so far (please note several of these films are still running in theatres, and the data, retrieved via Box Office Mojo, is based on current collections and likely to change in the future).
Lilo & Stitch: $1 billion
A Minecraft Movie: $955 million
Jurassic World: Rebirth: $772 million
How to Train Your Dragon: $619 million
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning: $594 million
The Fantastic Four: First Steps started strong with good Thursday previews and Friday box office numbers, but interest dropped in the following days. It did not require viewers to know much about the MCU, yet that simplicity did not attract as many fans as expected. The film remains in theaters as it continues its run.
Note: Box office numbers are based on estimates and various sources. Numbers have not been independently verified by Koimoi.
