BOX OFFICE: ‘Fantastic Four’ Hits 66% Drop, ‘Naked Gun’ Flies To $29M Debut, ‘Superman’ Crosses $550M
Courtesy of Netflix.
Marvel’s ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ retained its No. 1 position at the domestic box office in its second weekend, bringing in $40 million. However, the film saw a sharp 66% drop from its opening weekend—a bigger decline than expected after debuting to $117.6 million amid glowing reviews and an enthusiastic audience reception. While concerning, such a drop isn’t unprecedented in the superhero genre, and the film still has room to grow before the end of summer.
Originally expected to surpass $200 million domestically by Sunday, ‘Fantastic Four’ landed just shy at $198.4 million after 10 days. For comparison, DC Studios’ ‘Superman’ saw a smaller second-weekend decline of 53%, reaching $236.2 million in the same timeframe. Internationally, ‘Fantastic Four’ added another $39.6 million, bringing its global total to $368.7 million. That includes $170.3 million from overseas markets, while ‘Superman’ has earned $235 million internationally so far.
‘The Bad Guys 2’ exceeded expectations with a $22.2 million domestic opening—just shy of the first film’s $23 million debut. That original film went on to gross over $250 million globally, establishing the animated franchise based on Aaron Blabey’s popular book series about a team of animal outlaws. Director Pierre Perifel and producer Damon Ross returned for the sequel, which earned an A CinemaScore and generally favorable reviews. The original voice cast—Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, and Awkwafina—also returns, joined by newcomers Zazie Beetz, Richard Ayoade, Alex Borstein, and Lilly Singh.
Paramount’s reboot of ‘The Naked Gun’ debuted to $17 million domestically and $28.5 million worldwide, landing on the high end of industry forecasts. Starring Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson, the $40 million comedy marks Paramount Pictures’ final release before Skydance formally merges with Paramount Global in an $8 billion deal set to close Aug. 7.
Studio head Brian Robbins—one of Paramount Global’s three interim CEOs since merger talks began—plans to step down after the transition, sources say, making this film a symbolic bookend for the current regime.
The revival, produced by Seth MacFarlane, casts Neeson as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr., son of the original franchise’s iconic lead. It’s Neeson’s first major comedic role. Audience response has been positive, with an A CinemaScore and strong PostTrak exit polls.
In its fourth weekend, ‘Superman’ brought in another $13.9 million domestically and $11.2 million overseas, pushing its global total to $551.2 million. Last week, it became the first DC title in three years to cross the $300 million mark in North America—a significant milestone for the franchise’s new leadership under James Gunn (also the film’s director) and Peter Safran.
‘Jurassic World Rebirth,’ produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin and distributed by Universal, rounded out the top five domestically with $8.7 million. The film has now grossed $448.4 million in North America and $766 million globally.
Neon’s horror-comedy ‘Together,’ starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco, opened in sixth place with a $6.8 million weekend haul and a five-day total of $10.9 million. The indie release generated buzz going into the weekend and performed respectably for a specialty title.
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