Theopening daynumbers are in, and there is no way around it.Fantastic Fouris abomb. It flopped big on it’s opening day, pulling in $11.3 million. This does not bode well for 20th Century Fox. And now the sequel is in question. Even though the studio already issued a June 2017 release date forThe Fantastic Four 2, a mighty big miracle is going to have to happen for things to move forward with this same cast.
That said,Fantastic Fourstill has a chance to take the #1 spot at thebox officethis weekend, racing last week’s winnerMission: Impossible Rogue Nationto the finish line. Right now, the race is still too early to call. Friday’s tally was down from last year at this time, withTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlespulling in $25.6 million in its opening day. It is unclear if bad word of mouth ruinedFantastic Four’s chances for box office glory, or if fear after two back-to-back theater shootings is keeping people away from their local cinemaplex.
It is estimated thatFantastic Fourwill pull in $28 million over the course of the three day weekend. The 2005Fantastic Four, which wasn’t well-received by fans or critics, will almost have doubled the new reboot’s opening weekend take, as it pulled in $56 million. The 2007 sequelFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surferhad a similar opening weekend take of $58 million. This is sad news for Fox, who were expecting this new version of the classicMarvel superherofamily to kick-start a refreshed franchise. Maybe Marvel knew what they were doing when they canceled the comic book. It’s clear that general audiences aren’t interested in this title.
Fantastic Fourhad the lowest opening day for a superhero movie since the 2012 sequelGhost Rider Spirit of Vengeance, which only grossed $6.9 on its first Friday in release. TheFantastic Fourreboot holds the distinction of being the lowest superhero opening in the history of 20th Century Fox, even placing it behind the very-much hatedDaredevilstarringBen Affleck. That movie pulled in $15.3 million on its first Friday, with its entire box office run petering out at $102 domestically.
As for the rest of the weekend and the other new movies that were released, the low budget thrillerThe Giftis sailing on great word of mouth and will come in a solid third. It earned an estimated $4 million, and will likely have earned an estimated $10 to $11 million by the time Monday arrives. While that might not seem like a lot, this Blumhouse thriller will more than make its money back.Ricki and the Flashpulled in $2.3 million on Friday, and will likely earn a weekend total of $7 million, putting it in the #7 spot. PoorShaun the Sheepwon’t even crack the Top 10 despite great reviews. It will probably end up with around $5 and $6 million for the weekend.
On the bright side, theFantastic Fourreboot did do better in just it’s opening day than the entire theatrical run of Marvel’s 2008 rebootPunisher: War Zone, which opened with $4.2 million on it’s way to a grand total of $8 million domestically.Fantastic Fourhas few supporters, with a very lowRotten Tomatoesscore of 9%. What about you? Did the bad reviews keep you away from the theater this weekend? Or are you afraid of encountering a shooter? However you stack it up, the fate of theX-Men/Fantastic Four Crossover Moviecertainly seems a lot less certain now, and we know why none of the producers wanted to admit that it might be happening.
