Marvel 2025 Earnings: Fantastic Four: First Steps Crosses $500M While Others Fall Short ( Photo Credit – Instagram )
Advertisement
For the past four years, a Marvel title has consistently landed among the top five global box office hits. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) all secured spots on the list.
But 2025 tells a different story. The year’s highest-grossing film so far is the Chinese animated blockbuster Ne Zha II, followed by Disney’s sci-fi comedy Lilo & Stitch, the fantasy adventure A Minecraft Movie, Jurassic World: Rebirth, and the live-action How to Train Your Dragon.
Marvel’s three 2025 releases, Thunderbolts*, Captain America: Brave New World, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, failed to crack the top five this time. The question now is: which of these superhero films managed to cross their break-even point and actually turn a profit? Did The Fantastic Four: First Steps make the cut? Let’s break down the numbers.
Here’s how the three MCU titles – Thunderbolts*, Captain America: Brave New World, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps – have fared at the global box office, according to Box Office Mojo:
Thunderbolts* – $382.4 million (Box Office Mojo)
Captain America: Brave New World – $415.1 million (Box Office Mojo)
The Fantastic Four: First Steps – $508.5 million (Box Office Mojo)
(as of today)
Now, let’s take a look at their reported production budgets:
Thunderbolts* – $180 million
Captain America: Brave New World – $180 million
The Fantastic Four: First Steps – $200 million
2025’s Marvel Films – Break-Even & Profitability
Using the standard 2.5x multiplier rule (to account for production, marketing, and distribution costs), here are the estimated break-even points for Marvel’s 2025 films:
Thunderbolts* – $450 million
Captain America: Brave New World – $450 million
The Fantastic Four: First Steps – $500 million
Based on these figures, both Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World fell short of their break-even targets, making them unprofitable at the box office. The only exception is The Fantastic Four: First Steps. With a current worldwide gross of $508.5 million, the reboot has already cleared its break-even mark and posted a modest profit of around $8.5 million. With its theatrical run still underway, that figure could increase further before it closes. (Note: the 2.5x rule is only a benchmark, and real profits depend on marketing costs, revenue splits, and post-theatrical income.)
The Fantastic Four: First Steps – Box Office Summary (Box Office Mojo)
North America: $267.1 million
International: $241.4 million
Worldwide: $508.5 million (as of today)
The Fantastic Four: First Steps – Story & Cast
Set against the backdrop of a 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic alternate universe, the story follows four brilliant young scientists—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who gain extraordinary powers after a cosmic experiment goes wrong.
When a powerful space god, Galactus (Ralph Ineson), and his herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner), threaten the existence of the entire planet, the newly formed Fantastic Four must rise to the occasion to save the world.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps – Official Trailer
