“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” blew everyone away at the box office during its opening weekend, but that comes with a heavy asterisk. For a more detailed explanation of how the superhero film’s box office performance can be both good and bad, check out Looper’s video above about the financial situation concerning “First Steps” and what it could mean for the future of superhero movies’ ability to make money. 

Despite great reviews for “First Steps,” including our own, the film points to a worrying trend. Overall, it earned $117 million domestically and a global haul of $216 million. That doesn’t sound too shabby, but “First Steps” made $24.4 million of its domestic gross on Thursday previews alone, giving it an internal multiplier of 4.82x. What does this mean? Basically, a low multiplier indicates that a movie’s going to be heavily front-loaded, suggesting its not going to have significant legs to keep making money. A higher multiplier is preferable, and “First Steps” has wound up with the lowest in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This indicates that diehard Marvel fans turned out Thursday and Friday to catch the latest flick, but more casual moviegoers aren’t turning up later like they have in the past. 

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” has the highest debut of any Marvel movie in 2025, beating out “Captain America: Brave New World” and “Thunderbolts*,” but there’s the lingering question of how much more money it can make. Early predictions suggest “First Steps” could see a 60% decline in its second weekend, which would give it another $47 million in the U.S. It all points to a worrying trend that the superhero film bubble is about to burst, and all of these movies that cost over $200 million to make are no longer savvy investments. 

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” opened just shy of the opening haul of “Superman” just two weeks prior, which brought in $220 million globally. But while “Superman” just crossed the $500 million mark, neither film is going to make $1 billion despite adapting beloved characters and getting largely positive reviews. It’s part of an overarching trend where many people aren’t as tuned into superhero media as they were pre-COVID. Pandemic lockdowns really changed people’s moviegoing habits, especially when they know they can watch these movies in just a few months on Disney+, HBO Max, or one of the other streaming platforms. 

This doesn’t mean it’s all bad for superhero flicks. Just last year, “Deadpool and Wolverine” dominated the box office, bringing in $1.3 billion throughout its theatrical run. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” brought back prior Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, earning $1.9 billion as a result. More often than not, successful superhero movies need to rely on nostalgia bait to get casual viewers invested. This could be a good thing for the MCU with “Avengers: Doomsday” on the horizon, which will bring back a slew of “X-Men” actors like Patrick Stewart and James Marsden. But what’s going to happen when the MCU wants to reboot the X-Men with a brand new cast? On the other hand, at least “X-Men” is a recognizable name. “Thunderbolts*” hasn’t even made $400 million, meaning studios may be hesitant to greenlight projects casual viewers wouldn’t be familiar with. 

Superhero movies may not be dead, but they are at a tipping point. If you want to learn more about what the future might hold for the genre, check out Looper’s video above.