“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” stars Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby and Joseph Quinn.
Disney/Marvel Studios
Ticket sales for The Fantastic Four: First Steps are projected to drop more than Superman’s ticket sales in its second weekend, but the Marvel superhero film will easily defeat its new competitors at the box office.
The latest chapter in Disney’s sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe — starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the First Family of Superheroes — opened at No. 1 the weekend of July 25-27 with a $117.6 million take at the domestic box office. To date, the film has earned $142.2 million domestically and $99 million internationally for a worldwide box office tally of $241.2 million.
After no major competition in its opening weekend frame, The Fantastic Four: First Steps faces off against two newcomers Friday with Paramount Pictures’ reboot of The Naked Gun and Universal Pictures’ animated sequel The Bad Guys 2.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is projected by Variety to earn $45 million to $52 million in its second weekend in North American theaters, which is a 55% to 60% drop from its opening weekend at the domestic box office.
By comparison, Warner Bros.’ Superman dropped 53% in its second weekend, Variety reported. The film opened with $125 million domestically from July 11-15 and earned $58.4 million in its second weekend frame.
To date, director James Gunn’s Man of Steel film has earned nearly $299.6 million domestically and nearly $213.8 million internationally for a worldwide box office tally of $513.4 million.
The forecast for The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a bit better from the prognosticators at Box Office Pro, which projects the film will earn anywhere from $45 million to $55 million in its second weekend.
Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson in “The Naked Gun.”
Paramount Pictures
‘The Bad Guys 2’ And ‘The Naked Gun’ Are Projected At No. 2 And No. 3
The Bad Guys 2 — a sequel to the 2022 animated hit The Bad Guys — is projected by Variety to earn $20 million to $25 million from 3,700 North American venues in its debut weekend. The sequel finds the title characters trying to turn the other cheek into good guys after being released from prison.
The film’s ensemble voice cast includes Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Danielle Brooks, Awkwafina and Natasha Lyonne, among others. Box Office Pro projects the animated action comedy to earn somewhere between $22 million to $28 million domestically.
Meanwhile, Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson’s reboot of The Naked Gun is projected by Variety to open anywhere between $15 million to $17 million from 3,300 North American theaters for a No. 2 finish behind The Bad Guys 2.
Based on the late Leslie Nielsen’s Police Squad! TV series and The Naked Gun movie trilogy, Neeson stars as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr., the son of Nielsen’s classic comedy character.
Box Office Pro’s forecast for the opening of The Naked Gun is much more optimistic than Variety’s, as it’s projecting an opening of anywhere from $22 million to $28 million for the film.
Also new this weekend in theaters is Together, real-life couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie’s body horror thriller about a co-dependent couple. The Neon film, which opened in theaters on Wednesday, is projected by Variety to earn $7 million to $10 million in its first five days through Sunday.
The number of theaters Together is playing in was unavailable at the time this article was published, although Neon is releasing the film in theaters nationwide.