Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps breaks a new record, leaving behind every previous Marvel movie starring the same team. The Fantastic Four: First Steps delivers a standalone story focused on Marvel’s First Family. It also sets up future stories like the Russo brothers’ upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and possibly Avengers: Secret Wars.

On its opening weekend, The Fantastic Four: First Steps receives an A- rating from CinemaScore. The Fantastic Four: First Steps surpᴀsses the 2005 Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer‘s B scores, as well as the 2015 Fantastic Four reboot’s C- grade. However, an A- rating places The Fantastic Four: First Steps in the bottom half of the MCU’s CinemaScore rankings.

What The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ CinemaScore Record Means

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Is A Strong New Beginning For The Characters

The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ A- CinemaScore is a win for Marvel Studios due to the Fantastic Four franchise’s rocky past. Audiences and critics didn’t fully connect with any previous live-action Fantastic Four movie. First Steps marks a clear turning point as the team finally earns a place in the MCU and start a potentially long journey.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps renews audience trust in the brand. The team has been a major part of Marvel Comics lore since 1961, but they haven’t had the same luck on the big screen. For a property long seen as impossible to translate to live-action, The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ positive reception is a major reputation boost.

On the other hand, an A- grade isn’t ideal within the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s rankings. Several more divisive MCU movies like Iron Man 3, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Avengers: Age of Ultron, have earned a full A CinemaScore. This places The Fantastic Four: First Steps in a solid but not elite tier.

Our Take On The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ CinemaScore Record

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Is A Solid Fountation, But There’s Room To Improve

Audience and critic reception to the MCU’s first Fantastic Four entry are equally positive across other sites and aggregators. The Fantastic Four: First Steps overshadows its predecessors’ Rotten Tomatoes scores as well. By the end of its opening weekend, The Fantastic Four: First Steps holds an 87% Tomatometer and a 93% Popcornmeter.

While there’s always room to improve, the MCU seems to be adjusting certain flaws and weaknesses. Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ positive reception might lead to stronger standalone films. In turn, crossover events like Avengers: Doomsday will benefit from higher anticipation and characters with solid narrative foundations.

Source: CinemaScore