“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” performed impressively at the box office during its opening weekend, yet this achievement is qualified with a significant caveat. For a comprehensive analysis of how the superhero film’s financial success has its pros and cons, view Looper’s video above discussing the economic context of “First Steps” and its implications for future earnings in the superhero movie genre.

Despite receiving stellar reviews, including ours, “First Steps” highlights a concerning trend. It earned $117 million domestically and a global total of $216 million. While these figures might seem strong, “First Steps” generated $24.4 million of its domestic earnings from Thursday previews alone, resulting in an internal multiplier of 4.82x. What does this imply? Essentially, a low multiplier suggests that a movie will experience a heavily front-loaded performance, indicating it may not continue strong box office returns. A higher multiplier is desirable, and “First Steps” has the lowest in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This suggests that dedicated Marvel fans attended screenings on Thursday and Friday, but casual viewers aren’t arriving later as they have previously.

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” boasts the highest debut of any Marvel movie in 2025, surpassing “Captain America: Brave New World” and “Thunderbolts*,” but the question remains of how much more revenue it can generate. Initial forecasts indicate “First Steps” might experience a 60% decline in its second weekend, resulting in another $47 million in the U.S. This suggests a worrying scenario that the superhero film bubble may be close to bursting, and these movies that exceed $200 million in production costs may no longer be wise financial ventures.

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” opened just slightly below the opening earnings of “Superman” two weeks earlier, which collected $220 million globally. However, although “Superman” recently surpassed the $500 million mark, neither film is expected to reach $1 billion, despite featuring popular characters and receiving positive reviews. This reflects a broader pattern where audiences are less engaged with superhero content than before COVID. Pandemic restrictions have significantly altered moviegoing habits, particularly when viewers can conveniently watch these films on platforms like Disney+, HBO Max, or other streaming services within a few months.

This certainly doesn’t spell doom for superhero films. Just last year, “Deadpool and Wolverine” dominated the box office with $1.3 billion during its theatrical run. Additionally, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” revived previous Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, earning $1.9 billion. Frequently, successful superhero films rely on nostalgia to attract casual viewers. This could bode well for the MCU with the impending “Avengers: Doomsday,” featuring a return of “X-Men” actors like Patrick Stewart and James Marsden. But what will happen when the MCU aims to reboot the X-Men with fresh faces? On the flip side, at least “X-Men” is a well-known brand. “Thunderbolts*” hasn’t even reached $400 million, which might make studios cautious about approving projects that casual audiences might not recognize.

While superhero movies aren’t quite at an end, they are at a critical juncture. To learn more about what may lie ahead for this genre, consider watching Looper’s video above.