The Fantastic Four: First Steps, like most MCU movies, has a large budget that necessitates a substantial box office return worldwide. It is also under additional pressure, as the MCU has been struggling within the Multiverse Saga to match the financial and critical heights of its heyday.
For example, the last two MCU movies, Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World, underperformed at the global box office, despite the former being so universally acclaimed. They are now the fifth and seventh-lowest-grossing movies in the MCU, respectively.
Thankfully, The Fantastic Four: First Steps has been instantly well-received by critics, who praise its unique style and captivating cast. Whether this translates to a box office result that matches the MCU’s most bankable franchises remains to be seen, but it has at least gotten MCU Phase 6 off to a positive start critically.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Budget Explained
The Movie Is One Of The MCU’s Most Expensive
The Fantastic Four: First Steps hasn’t held back in its production value. Debuting the most comics-accurate depiction of the gargantuan Galactus ever committed to the big screen comes with significant costs in itself, while the star-studded cast and ample CGI-heavy cosmic sequences also won’t have been cheap.
According to Variety, factors such as these have run up a budget of $200 million. This budget exceeds the $180 million spent by both other MCU movies in 2025 and places it in the higher bracket of MCU budgets. Other MCU movies that reportedly cost just as much, according to The Numbers, include, in order of global box office totals:
- Spider-Man: No Way Home
- ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine
- Black Panther
- Iron Man 3
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
- Eternals
- Black Widow
The MCU’s lowest-grossing movie, The Marvels, was also its most expensive non-Avengers movie with a production budget of $270 million.
Most other movies that cost as much to make are also from the Multiverse Saga and additionally comprise some of the MCU’s highest-grossing and lowest-grossing movies. With that in mind, The Fantastic Four: First Steps could go either way, though the тιтular team’s star power should work in its favor.
What Box Office The Fantastic Four: First Steps Needs
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Requires A Significant Global Box Office
The general rule of thumb with blockbuster movies stipulates that they need to make around 2-2.5 times their production budget to break even. With that in mind, The Fantastic Four: First Steps would need to gross $400 – $500 million worldwide to break even, with any amount above that making it profitable.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps, on the other hand, features one of Marvel’s most illustrious teams and has enchanted critics, which could herald a much brighter future for Marvel’s First Family.
This is because significant marketing costs also need to be factored in, and the thoroughly promoted The Fantastic Four: First Steps seemingly spared no expense in that department. Now, it is a matter of seeing whether the marketing and positive word of mouth have paid off.
Variety reports that The Fantastic Four: First Steps is gearing up to rake in around $100 to $110 million domestically and $90 to $100 million internationally for a global opening of $190 million to $210 million total. This would set it in good stead to hit its target, making nearly half of the break-even figure in just one weekend alone.
It certainly doesn’t mean that The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a shoo-in, however. The two most recent MCU movies had respectable openings that petered out in subsequent weeks, a fate that could still befall The Fantastic Four: First Steps, especially with Superman also vying for the summer superhero blockbuster spotlight.
Nevertheless, Captain America: Brave New World received mixed reviews, and Thunderbolts* starred a team of relatively obscure antiheroes. The Fantastic Four: First Steps, on the other hand, features one of Marvel’s most illustrious teams and has enchanted critics, which could herald a much brighter future for Marvel’s First Family.
Sources: Variety, The Numbers
