Dr. Fantastic and and his family have cleared the launch pad in high style.
Director Matt Shakman‘s acclaimed superhero movie The Fantastic Four: First Steps launched to a promising $24.4 million in Thursday previews at the North American box office to score the biggest preview gross the year to date.
That’s welcome news for the Disney-owned suggest Marvel Studios, where chief Kevin Fiege and his team are looking for redemption after a rough few years (Deadpool & Wolverine being the exception). It also comes as Disney becomes the first Hollywood studio to cross $3 billion in global ticket sales.
The preview gross is ahead of rival DC Studios’ Superman, which earned $22.5 in previews and special sneaks two weeks ago. It’s also double Marvel’s last two films.
Disney and Marvel are predicting a North American opening in the $100 million to $110 million range for First Steps; ditto for overseas. Based on brisk advance ticket sales, strong reviews and strong early audience scores, the all-star reboot could easily open higher.
Superman debuted to $125 million domestically two weeks ago and $95 million internationally, slightly behind expectations due to the pro-American nature of the comic-book character. Fantastic Four should have an upperhand over Superman overseas, considering that the previous films in the franchise made by 20th Century Fox did more of their business offshore.
First Steps, which is earning raves for its early 1960s retro-style, stars Pedro Pascal as scientific genius Reed Richards, who leads a space expedition with his wife, Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), her brother, Johnny Storm(Joseph Quinn), and piloted by their good friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). When their rocket ship encountered a cosmic storm, it altered their DNA, returning them to Earth with superpowers.
The new film picks up after the four have returned to New York City, where there have become worldwide heroes. But there is no time to rest on their laurels. They must return to space when earth is visited by the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner), who warns that the planet is about to be destroyed by a cosmic entity named Galactus.
In terms of the box office, the hope is that Fantastic Four will play to both families and fanboys/fangirls alike, which should help combat lingering superhero fatigue at the box office. “The eponymous quartet may have superpowers, but they are also a family, struggling like most of us to handle the most daunting responsibilities life throws our way,” writes David Rooney in his THR reivew.
More to come.
