Hey, welcome back to Screen Crush. I'm Colton Ogburn. Oh boy, did Fantastic 4 First Steps have a far from fantastic second weekend at the box office. A performance so dismal that it has us wondering, is the MCU done for? And will Avengers Doomsday be one of the first Avengers movies that struggles to crawl across that billion-dollar line? Later, I'll be joined by my friends Tommy Beold and Whitney Van Lanningham to get their thoughts on this massive drop and what it really means for the future of the MCU.
Movies make the bulk of their money the first weekend they're out in theaters, and the subsequent weekends are almost always far less than that initial opening weekend. Generally speaking, a 40% or less drop off for a second weekend is considered great. 50% is fine. That's about average. But a 60% or more drop off is considered bad and a signal that the film's total box office will be very underwhelming. Fantastic 4 First Steps had a 66% second weekend drop off. That's got to hurt.
Domestically, First Steps opened with an impressive $17.6 million opening weekend, surpassing initial estimates that were in the 100 to $110 million range. This was huge and had many claiming that Marvel was back after multiple box office flops. Now, that bigger than expected opening weekend showed how excited the fans were to see Fantastic 4, and that's great. But they're going to need way more than the base if they're going to be successful.
The drop off is really showing us that while Marvel may have gotten back the diehards, they have lost the general audience. And the general audience was the foundation of their big box office numbers from the past. A huge issue that the multiverse saga has had is the fact that the audiences feel like they are being given homework. Marvel made the mistake of making TV shows required viewing to understand a movie, and because they released so much, even those who wanted to keep up couldn't.
Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios have acknowledged this problem and are committed to fixing it. However, I am starting to worry that it might be too late. The audience has been trained that Marvel movies are now hit or miss, and they'll be dropped on Disney Plus in a few months anyway. This could spell doom for Avengers Doomsday.
Now, I am joined by my friends Whitney Van Lanningham and Tommy Bechal. Tommy, I think you and me are kind of on the same page. We liked Fantastic 4, but we had issues with it. I think they cut it to hell. But Whitney, I haven't got to talk to you about First Steps. I will say I liked it a little bit more the second time I watched it. The first time I watched it, it just wasn't for me.
In summary, there is an ongoing discussion about whether the MCU is still a strong box office contender. The case of Fantastic 4 First Steps illustrates how crucial garnering a massive audience beyond dedicated fans is for the success of superhero films. With Marvel's diehards on board yet they struggle with general audience engagement, the question remains if future releases can reverse this trend.