The Fantastic Four Still Hasn't Topped One Of The MCU's Worst Movies At The Box Office

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The Fantastic Four looking up at Galactus in First Steps

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Though both have rewarded Marvel Studios with a hefty payday, Iron Man 2's lifetime gross earnings have outpaced The Fantastic Four: First Steps at the box office.

Iron Man 2 and The Fantastic Four: First Steps are the MCU's 21st and 22nd highest-grossing films. The rankings are based on their domestic lifetime gross earnings (per Box Office Mojo) from 4,390 and 4,125 U.S. theaters, respectively. 2010's Iron Man 2 grossed $312.4 million after 105 days of screening, while First Steps grossed $274 million after 73 days. Both films had breakout first-day returns, raking in $51 million and $57 million, but that was followed by second-week drops of 70% and 79%.

Both films ranked in their respective years' highest-grossing theatrical releases. Iron Man 2 ranked seventh overall in 2010 with a worldwide gross of $624 million; First Steps grossed $521.5 million and remains 2025's tenth-highest-grossing film to date. Both performed well enough to greenlight sequels. First Steps has yet to confirm its production budget, however. It's over $200 million according to current estimates. Per industry expectations, distribution and marketing also impact returns, and movies generally need to gross three times their total costs to generate a profit.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Beats Iron Man 2 on Rotten Tomatoes

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark fixing his Iron Man armor from the movie Iron Man (2008)

Despite its overwhelmingly positive reception, Iron Man 2 ranked on the low end of the MCU's all-time best films (per Rotten Tomatoes). It's at 29th with a critics' score of 72%, while First Steps is 14th with 86%. The latter is so far the Marvel IP's best movie iteration, having been adapted twice in the 2000s, followed by a failed reboot in 2015. Marvel Studios acquired the film rights to The Fantastic Four in 2019, along with Deadpool and the X-Men. They're all reportedly joining OG and next-generation MCU characters in Avengers: Doomsday.

Marvel head Kevin Feige teased a seven-year plan for the franchise. "I think it goes to 2032," he said, per Deadline. He cautioned that "it's on magnets, it can move around," however, which means that while a Fantastic Four sequel is in development, its release prospects are not confirmed yet. Feige did assert that The Fantastic Four is crucial to the MCU moving forward.

"Why Fantastic Four? Because it's Marvel's first family," Feige said, referring to the reboot. First Steps is also the first film of MCU Phase 6. "It's in the history of our characters; they deserve to be A-listers. They were A-listers in the comics. Every crossover movie we've made in the Infinity saga, Civil War, leading to Infinity War and Endgame, which is really the Infinity saga from the comics, the Fantastic Four were huge players in those comics and obviously we couldn't do that then."

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is available on digital PVOD, while Iron Man 2 is streaming on Disney+.