- The Fantastic Four: First Steps £3,098,336 – £15,372,228
Friday: £961k 31.02% (-55.1% £2.14m), Saturday: £1.12m 36.15% (-48.4% £2.17m), Sunday: £1.02m 32.83% (-42.9% £1.78m)
Down 62% in its second weekend
240th biggest second weekend between Blade Runner 2049 and Sex and the City (close to The Day After Tomorrow, Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Mummy Returns and Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny) and 439th biggest inflated second weekend between T2 aka Trainspotting 2 and Wedding Crashers (close to The Naked Gun (1988), Stargate, Three Men And A Baby and The Devil Wears Prada).
23rd biggest MCU second weekend between Iron Man 2 and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (close to Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1, Eternals and Captain America: Winter Soldier).
7th biggest 2025 second weekend between Jurassic World 4 and F1 (close to Superman, Mission Impossible 8, Captain America: Brave New World and How To Train Your Dragon)
45th biggest second weekend comic-book between Men In Black 2 and X-Men 2 (close to Wonder Woman, Men In Black, Venom and Justice League) and 63rd biggest inflated comic-book second weekend between X-Men: First Class and Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (close to X-Men, Batman Returns, Ant-Man and Fantastic Four (2005).
Fantastic Four: First Steps is seen as a “return to form” for the MCU, praised for its retro-futuristic style and cast. However, some critics suggest this reflects lowered expectations due to superhero fatigue.
As the 37th MCU film and third adaptation of Fantastic Four, Fox’s previous Fantastic Four films were poorly received before Disney’s 2019 acquisition.
2005’s Fantastic Four dropped 53.9% £1,632,583/£2,762,566 and £7,395,107 60% of £11,782,585/£19,812,754; took $154.7m/$277.8m and $333.53m/$600m worldwide
2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer dropped 45.5% £2,254,179/£3,557,585 and £7,914,450 64.4% of £12,278,806/£19,257,058; took $131.9m/$270.7m and $301.9m/$505.1m
2015’s Fantastic Four dropped 73.9% £701,406/£775,341 and £4,836,085 85.5% of £5,653,567/£6,210,298; took $56.1m/$76.6m and $301.9m/$412.2m WW.
Similar MCU Second weekends
Similar to 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy dropped 47.6% £3,332,179 and £13,840,330, 48.9% of £28,326,152
2010’s Iron Man 2 dropped 58.1% £3,214,776 and £15,090,463 72.1% of £20,923,193
2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania dropped 65.5% £3,049,939 and £14,653,459, 76.1% of £19,263,938
2013’s Thor: The Dark World dropped 65.6% £2,979,564 and £13,973,977, 70.9% of £19,711,938
2025’s Captain America: Brave New World dropped 54.3% £2,927,599 and £13,212,979, 74.4% of £17,749,330
2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier dropped 54.2% £2,764,030 and £10,933,395, 56.7% of £19,261,224
Fantastic Four’s second weekend was much more similar to many 20ths Century Fox X-Men films’ second weekends, like 23-year-old X-Men 2 and inflation-inflated Fantastic Four (2005)
| Film | R-Date | 2 W/E | 2nd infl | Drop | 2 WE T | Total | 2025 BO |
| Deadpool | 10/02/2016 | £5,694,280 | £6,124,617 | -58.53% | £25,866,491 | £37,616,432 | £40,459,239 |
| Deadpool 2 | 15/05/2018 | £3,771,293 | £4,163,048 | -70.93% | £20,682,579 | £32,501,893 | £35,878,128 |
| X-Men: Days Of Future Past | 25/05/2014 | £3,518,389 | £3,784,286 | -61.53% | £19,473,504 | £27,005,508 | £29,046,410 |
| X-Men 2 | 01/05/2003 | £3,079,985 | £5,528,712 | -56.24% | £13,511,804 | £20,500,928 | £36,800,089 |
| X-Men: Apocalypse | 22/05/2016 | £2,543,481 | £2,735,701 | -65.42% | £12,132,935 | £18,273,403 | £19,654,389 |
| X-Men: First Class | 05/06/2011 | £2,401,492 | £3,158,398 | -55.84% | £10,033,539 | £15,027,740 | £19,764,206 |
| X-Men: The Last Stand | 25/05/2006 | £2,310,683 | £3,781,549 | -67.42% | £14,197,643 | £19,066,987 | £31,204,083 |
| Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer | 17/06/2007 | £2,254,179 | £3,557,585 | -45.51% | £7,914,450 | £12,278,806 | £19,378,630 |
| X-Men Origins: Wolverine | 03/05/2009 | £2,226,873 | £3,262,533 | -66.56% | £12,150,570 | £16,166,926 | £23,685,735 |
| X-Men | 18/08/2000 | £2,026,544 | £3,800,366 | -47.35% | £9,261,969 | £14,976,383 | £28,085,123 |
| The Wolverine | 28/07/2013 | £1,800,640 | £2,197,718 | -61.64% | £9,532,590 | £13,055,615 | £15,934,648 |
| Fantastic Four (2005) | 21/07/2005 | £1,632,583 | £2,762,566 | -53.90% | £7,395,107 | £12,335,439 | £20,873,344 |
| X-Men: Dark Phoenix | 09/06/2019 | £1,043,284 | £1,151,658 | -72.34% | £5,930,679 | £7,105,017 | £7,843,073 |
| Fantastic Four (2015) | 09/08/2015 | £701,406 | £775,341 | -73.89% | £4,836,085 | £5,653,567 | £6,249,505 |
The 37 MCUs have taken £1.2bn since 2008 and £1.4bn, inflated with an average opening of £11,755,763 and an average total of £31,904,312.
457th biggest between Robin Hood and Mission: Impossible III (close to Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Basic Instinct, Fast X and X-Men) and 768th biggest inflated between Twilight and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) (close to Die Hard 2 Die Harder, Miracle on 34th Street, A.I. and Inspector Gadget).
- 2. The Naked Gun £1,815,858 – NE
£565k 31.13% Friday; £658k 36.25% Saturday; £592k 32.62% Sunday
1,006th biggest opening between Cheaper by the Dozen and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (close to Slumdog Millionaire, This Means War, Rush Hour and Dumb & Dumber To) and 1,531st biggest inflated opening between Phenomenon and Pacific Rim: Uprising (close to The Avengers (1998), We’re the Millers, Beetlejuice and Coming To America).
22nd biggest 2025 opening between Mickey 17 and The Bad Guys 2 (close to Karate Kid, Sinners, The Salt Road and Ballerina).
The Naked Gun is the fourth instalment in the Naked Gun film series. In 2013, Paramount Pictures announced plans for a reboot, casting Ed Helms with the working title ‘The Naked Gun: Episode IV: A New Hope’. In 2015, David Zucker was offered a producing role but declined, citing concerns about replicating the original without involvement from its creators.
In 2021, Seth MacFarlane joined as producer and cast Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr. Upon viewing the trailer in April, David Zucker publicly expressed that he did not intend to see the remake. Trailers suggest that Liam Neeson’s portrayal may draw references from his previous roles, such as Bad Cop/Good Cop from The Lego Movie.
1989’s The Naked Gun opened £1,061,570/£3,631,207, taking £7,740,553/£26,477,342
1991’s The Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell Of Fear opened £1,594,006/£4,192,814 taking £7,962,029/20,943,027
1994’s The Naked Gun 33 1/3 The Final Insult opened £1,341,696/£3,290,251 taking £5,264,981/£12,911,353
Legacy comedy sequels have struggled to find similar success, as seen with films like Bill & Ted Face the Music, Vacation, Men in Black International, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Zoolander 2, Dumb and Dumber To, The Pink Panther, Blues Brothers 2000, Coming 2 America, and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.
It would be like making a modern sequel to Blazing Saddles, Police Academy, Airplane!, or Hot Shots. It will be interesting to see what Mel Brooks does with Spaceballs 2, as Rick Moranis and Bill Pullman will return. It will be 32 years since Mel Brooks directed his last film, Dracula: Dead and Loving It. It’s been 20 years since The Producers film remake flopped at the box office, despite audiences loving the stage show and the original film.
Premiere reaction was incredibly positive, but as always, I need to take it with a pinch of salt as reactions are hyperbolic nonsense, with actual reviews far less gushing, while it’s been 31 years since the last Naked Gun film.
- 3. The Bad Guys 2 £1,325,007 – £4,897,985
£446k 33.7% (-19.9% £557k) Friday; £413k 31.2% (-27.5% £570k) Sat; £466k 35.2% (-6.99% £501k) Sun
Down 18.65% in its second weekend
811th biggest second weekend between Forgetting Sarah Marshall and First Man (close to Jerry Maguire, The Flash, Ghostbusters (2016) and Safe House) and 1,306th biggest inflated second weekend between City of Angels and Sister Act 2 Back In The Habit (close to Black Rain, The Color of Money, The Mask Of Zorro and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997).
21st biggest second weekend of 2025 between We Live In Time and Mickey 17 (close to Dog Man, A Complete Unknown, Karate Kid and M3GAN 2.0l)
130th biggest animated second weekend between The Boxtrolls and Turbo (close to The Garfield Movie, The LEGO Ninjago Movie, A Peanuts Movie and Encanto) and 168th biggest inflated animated second weekend between Oliver & Company and Sausage Party (close to Onward, The Smurfs 2, DC League of Super-Pets and The Emoji Movie).
31st biggest Dreamworks Animation second weekend between The Boss Baby 2 and Turbo (close to Mr. Peabody And Sherman, How to Train Your Dragon, Puss in Boots and Flushed Away) and 36th biggest inflated second weekend between The Boss Baby 2 and The Bad Guys.
2022’s The Bad Guys dropped 50.8% £1,120,106 and £4,851,614 36% of £13,478,928.
Children’s films have surprisingly struggled to match the BO heights of recent years with Dog Man still the biggest animated film of the year until Zootopia 2.
Animated films have been a strong performing genre of films especially during school holidays, but the animated films that have been released like Elio and Smurfs haven’t excited audiences. Of course, next summer will be the battle between Shrek 5 and Toy Story 5
Horror is another genre that has been very lucrative this year, but few have found bi audiences despite there being many horrors released this year already.
- 4. Jurassic World Rebirth £1,267,181 – £31,568,461
Down 52.1% in its fifth weekend.
£359k 29.58% (-33% £433k) Fri; £466k 36.95% (-38.52% £628k) Sat; £422k 33.47% (-29.43% £516k) Sun
114th biggest fifth weekend between A Minecraft Movie and Ratatouille (close to King Kong, Independence Day, Babe and Ghost) and 247th inflated fifth weekend between A Minecraft Movie and Kindergarten Cop (close to The Matrix, Spider-Man: The Movie, The Living Daylights and Cliffhanger)
Fifth weekends
1993’s Jurassic Park dropped 19.9% £2,151,284/£5,341,350 and £32,729,107 68.3% of £47,886,423/£118,895,574
1997’s Jurassic Park: The Lost World dropped 36% £692,559/£1,356,190 and £22,434,362 87% of £25,799,961/£50,522,282
2001’s Jurassic Park 3 dropped 39% £616,153/£1,186,169 and £16,038,108 87.6% of £18,307,718/£35,244,568
2015’s Jurassic World dropped 29% £1,853,867/£2,049,282 and £57,148,254 89.7% of £63,674,773/£70,386,677
2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom dropped 34.2% £1,318,104/£1,455,026 and £36,810,689 88.54% of £41,573,492/£45,892,068
2022’s Jurassic World Dominion dropped 69.3% £560,166/£580,562 and £31,739,573 90.42% of £36,379,686
Jurassic Park took 9.82x opening compared with 3.29x for Jurassic World; 2.9x for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, 4.53x for The Lost World: Jurassic Park; 3.84x for Jurassic Park 3. Dominion was 2.9x, and Rebirth will be similar.
147th biggest between Slumdog Millionaire and Gladiator (close to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, IT, The BFG and War of the Worlds) and 303rd biggest inflated between The Matrix Revolutions and There’s Something About Mary (close to X-Men: Days of Future Past, Star Wars Special Edition, A Fish Called Wanda and I, Robot).
- 5. Superman £1,261,967 – £24,252,5076
Down 34.03% in its fourth weekend
£373k 29.58% (-33.03% £557k) Fri; £466k 36.95% (-38.52% £758k) Sat; £422k 33.47% (-29.43% £598k) Sun
247th biggest fourth weekend between Jason Bourne and Bruce Almighty (close to Star Trek Into Darkness, Spider-Man 3, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 and Tomorrow Never Dies) and 449th biggest inflated fourth weekend between Smallfoot and F1 (close to Iron Man, Troy, Interstellar and Dune).
34th biggest comic-book fourth weekend between Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 (close to Iron Man 3, Captain America: Civil War, Deadpool 2 and The Mask) and 45th biggest inflated fourth weekend comic-book between Iron Man and Thor: Ragnarok (close to Batman Begins, X-Men, X-Men: The Last Stand and Superman Returns).
6th biggest 2025 film ahead of How To Train Your Dragon (£22m).
Audiences haven’t stopped loving movies. They’ve just stopped pretending that bigger means better, or that nostalgia alone is enough to make them believe again.
2006’s Superman Returns dropped 48.1% £697,440/£1,141,396 and £13,897,510 88.3% of £15,727,425/£25,738,722
2013’s Man Of Steel dropped 67% £802,763/£979,789 and £28,352,216 95.2% of £29,764,997/£36,328,794
2016’s Batman V Superman dropped 56.6% £990,487/£1,065,342 and £35,349,755 96.86% of £36,495,828/£39,253,947
1987’s Superman IV took 3,457,959/£12,818,574; 1983’s Superman III took £6,710,000/£28,118,095; 1981’s Superman II took £10,752,997/£54,244,418, and 1978’s Superman took £10,046,159/£86,484,325.
James Gunn previously directed the Guardians Of The Galaxy trilogy and 2021’s The Suicide Squad,
221st biggest between How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Murder on the Orient Express (close to The Sixth Sense, Hancock, Uncharted and Borat) and 447th biggest inflated between Two Weeks’ Notice and Superman Returns (close to Pearl Harbour, The Beach, Apollo 13 and Sleeping With The Enemy).
36th biggest comic-book film between Hancock and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (close to X-Men: Days of Future Past, Spider-Man 2, Logan and Doctor Strange) and 55th biggest inflated comic-book film between Doctor Strange and Superman Returns (close to Batman Returns, X-Men, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Aquaman)
———-
The weekend’s top 10 box office took £11,585,099, down 26.5% from last weekend’s £15,756,045: x admissions, down 26.5% from 2,035,665 admissions.
2025 BO is up 16% ahead of 2024; it will drop down over the next few weeks as Fantastic Four will take nowhere near last year’s Deadpool Vs Wolverine.
The 24th biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks was between 06 June 2025 #1 Lilo & Stitch £3,528,384 (30.2%) and 11 April 2025 #1 A Minecraft Movie £7,201,921 (63.01%)
80th biggest since cinemas reopened out of 246 weeks between 18 February 2022 #1 Uncharted £3,775,360 (32.37%) and 15 April 2022 #1 The Lost City £2,743,211 (23.93%)
487th biggest top 10 of the last 24 years (out of 1,217) between 15 August 2014 #1 The Inbetweeners 2 £4,309,832 (37.02%) and 23 November 2001 #1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone £8,362,749 (72.2%) and 800th inflated between 04 September 2009 #1 District 9 £2,288,378 (26.29%) and 27 March 2009 #1 Knowing £2,471,605 (28.52%)
The top 3 took £6,239,200 (53.9%) of the top 10; The Fantastic Four: First Steps 26.74% (£3,098,336); The Naked Gun 15.67% (£1,815,858); The Bad Guys 2 11.44% (£1,325,006).
865th biggest percentage share #1 (26.74%) between 25 August 2006 #1 You, Me and Depree £1,636,249 (26.79%) and 03 November 2023 #1 Trolls Band Together £1,829,764 (26.74%)
838th biggest admissions #1 (400,302) between 24 October 2014 #1 Fury £2,692,786 (400,712) and 15 March 2013 #1 Oz: The Great and Powerful £2,609,475 (399,613)
Down 19.75% from 2024; (£14,436,761); Harold And The Purple Crayon (£641,549); Spider-Man RE (£253,261); BLACKPINK WORLD TOUR [BORN PINK] IN CINEMAS (£93,518); The Neverending Story (40th Anniversary) (£20,677); #1 Deadpool and Wolverine £8,021,084 2nd weeks (55.56% of top 10)
Down 51.38% from 2023; (£23,825,557); The Meg 2 (£3,777,784); Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (£3,662,250); Joy Ride (£389,935); #1 Barbie £7,916,261 3rd week 40% drop 766 screens (33.23%)
Up 32.54% 2022 (£8,741,052); Bullet Train (£2,858,197); Westlife: Live from Wembley Stadium (£468,215); #1 Bullet Train £2,858,197 1st week 609 screens (32.7% of top 10)
Up 36.94% 2021 (£10,270,607); The Suicide Squad (£3,252,028); Jungle Cruise (£2,241,651); Spirit Untamed (£592,154); The Sparks Brothers (£123,005); #1 The Suicide Squad £3,252,028 1st week 635 screens (31.66% of top 10)
Up 1,677.09% 2020: (£651,914); Unhinged (£175,263); 100% Wolf (£33,130); The Vigil (£30,302); Proxima (£30,051); Summerland (£15,792); Parasite: Black & White Edition (£8,546); Flash Gordon 40th Anniversary 4K Restoration (£5,816); #1 Unhinged £175,263 1st week 243 screens (26.88% of top 10)
Down 26.78% from 2019; (£15,821,627); Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw (£6,377,583); Angry Birds 2 (£701,223); The Magic Flute – Glyndebourne 2019 (£132,765); Do the Right Thing (30th Anniversary) (£14,616); #1 Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw £6,377,583 1st week 614 screens (40.31% of top 10)
Down 29.06% from 2018: (£16,330,724); Ant-Man and The Wasp (£4,988,747); Teen Titans Go! to the Movies (£389,726); The Producers (50th Anniversary) (£35,745); #1 Ant-Man and The Wasp £4,988,747 1st week 486 screens (30.5% of top 10)
Down 21.11% from 2017: (£14,684,539); The Emoji Movie (£2,702,809); Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (£1,861,916); England is Mine (£76,895); Maudie (£49,315); #1 Dunkirk £4,624,570 £8,235,532 3rd week 690 screens (31.49% of top 10)
Down 45.3% from 2016: (£21,285,722); Suicide Squad (£11,252,225); Sid & Nancy (30th Anniversary) (£6,048); #1 Suicide Squad £11,252,225 1st week 573 screens (52.8% of the top 10)
Down 15.61% from 2015; (£13,728,232); Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (£5,351,344); Hot Pursuit (£311,673); The Cobbler (£57,787); #1 Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation £5,351,344 £7,376,513 1st week 572 screens (38.9% of top 10)
Down 20.49% from 2014: (£14,570,372); Guardians of the Galaxy (£6,363,110); The Nut Job (£666,966); Back to the Future (Re: 2014) (£538,159); Step Up 5: All In (£391,129); Mood Indigo (£60,538); Planes 2: Fire and Rescue (£55,903); #1 Guardians of the Galaxy £6,363,110 1st week 554 screens (43.67%)
Down 24.42% from 2013: (£15,328,027); The Smurfs 2 (£3,220,911); The Heat (£2,500,522); The Conjuring (£2,156,124); Red 2 (£1,023,349); Only God Forgives (£465,917); From up on Poppy Hill (£33,087); #1 The Smurfs 2 (£3,220,911 1st week 510 screens (21.1% of top 10)
Down 38.49% from 2012 (£18,835,047); Ted (£9,333,700); Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (£1,537,178); Brave (Scotland) (£820,084); Sound of My Voice (£3,630); #1 Ted £9,333,700 1st week 509 screens (49.5% of top 10)
Down 6.77% from 2011; (£14,498,785); Captain America: The First Avenger (£2,981,590); Horrid Henry: the Movie (£1,290,308); The Zookeeper (£936,063); #1 Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 £4,567,581 3rd 576 screens 64% drop (31.50% of top 10)
Down 29.66% from 2010: (£21,956,519); Karate Kid (£4,882,306); The A-Team (£3,569,505); Gainsbourg (£135,031); #1 Toy Story 3 £8,115,193 2nd week 564 screens 62% drop (36.9% of top 10)
Down 6.69% from 2009; (£12,415,474); G-Force (£2,478,524); The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (£1,784,719); Land of the Lost (£642,553); Coco Before Chanel (£423,268); Crossing Over (£3,214); #1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince £2,917,786 3rd week 568 screens 44% drop (23.5% of top 10)
Down 27.01% from 2008; (£15,871,733); The X-Files: I Want to Believe (£887,209); Space Chimps (£563,543); The Love Guru (£498,829); Man on Wire (£98,508); #1 The Dark Knight £6,737,306 2nd week 510 40% drop screens (42.4% of top 10)
Up 9.06% from 2007: (£10,622,708); Evan Almighty (£1,152,349); The Hoax (£94,136); Happily, Never After (£62,622); Wind Chill (£23,769); Seraphim Falls (£17,110); #1 The Simpsons £4,027,220 2nd week 519 screens 70% drop (37.9% of top 10)
Up 24.47% from 2006; (£9,307,750); Miami Vice (£2,231,684); My Super Ex-Girlfriend (£714,920); Ant Bully (£382,766); #1 Miami Vice £2,231,684 1st week 408 screens (23.9% of top 10)
Up 19.93% from 2005: (£9,659,697); Herbie: Fully Loaded (£774,412); Stealth (£525,902); The Devil’s Rejects (£323,196); #1 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory £4,441,851 2nd week 532 screens 44% drop (45.9% of top 10)
Up 47.59% from 2004 (£7,849,699); King Arthur (£1,908,084); Garfield (£1,147,437); The Stepford Wives (£946,787); New York Minute (£109,106); Anything Else (£39,149); #1 King Arthur £1,908,084 1st week 400 screens (24.31% of top 10)
Up 5.9% from 2003 (£10,939,690); Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (£6,080,369); Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde (£1,546,483); Spy Kids 3D Game Over (£979,374); #1 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines £6,080,369 1st week 478 screens (55.58%)
Down 9.31% from 2002 (£12,774,940); Men in Black 2 (£6,191,428); Lost In La Mancha (42,824); Lovely and Amazing (£35,483); #1 Men in Black 2 £6,191,428 1st week 512 screens (48.4% of top 10)
Up 7.72% from 2001 (£10,754,826); Cats and Dogs (£3,707,358); Rush Hour 2 (£2,286,253); Final Fantasy: The Spirits. (£43,546) #1 Cats and Dogs £ 3,707,358 1st week 452 screens (34.4% of top 10).
2024 Next week: (£13,987,592); It Ends With Us (£4,516,760); Trap (£1,141,334); Borderlands (£843,159); Spider-Man 2 (2004) (£208,243); Bluey At The Cinema: Family Trip Collection (£181,276); #1 It Ends With Us £4,516,760 1st week 625 screens (32.29% of top 10).
US Box Office
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps – Disney
Dropped 67.1% in its second weekend $38.69m and $197.12m
Friday was down 80% from last Friday. (showing what’s happening when films have previews starting at 2 pm on Thursday, films have a far bigger second Friday drop)
Going into the weekend, Fantastic Four was expected to drop 55%-60% taking $40m-$47m; but predictably, audience reaction wasn’t as positive as critics, who just saw it as yet another average MCU.
135th biggest second weekend between The Lorax and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (close to Justice League, X2: X-Men United, Logan and Transformers: Age of Extinction).
224th biggest MCU second weekend between Captain America Winter Soldier and Thor: The Dark World (close to Thor, Shang-Chi, Thunderbolts, Ant-Man 3).
EntTelligence said it had an average ticket price of $15.77, average PLF $18.95.
Has taken $43.9m worldwide from IMAX screens; US $26.3m and International $17.6m
37 MCUs have taken $11bn in the US and $14.2bn, inflated.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the fourth Fantastic Four film since 2005, and it’s the first MCU film to focus on the X-Men characters. 20th Century Fox had owned the rights from Marvel since 1994. 20th Century Fox made 14 X-Men films between 2000 and 2020, the first X-Men and the last, 2020’s The New Mutants, which was planned by the studio to start a new trilogy of films, was dumped by Disney in 2020.
2005’s Fantastic Four dropped 59.4% $22.78m/$40.91m and $100.19m/$180m of $154.69m/$277.8m and $333.53m/$598.9m WW
2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer dropped 65.5% $20m/$33.5m and $97.46m/$163.1m $131.91m/$220.7m and $301.9m/$505.1m WW
2015’s Fantastic Four dropped 68.2% $8.16m/$11.2m and $42.1m/$57.6m of $56.1m/$76.62m and $167.9m/$229.22m WW
Took $39.6m internationally from 44 territories $170.3m total and $368.7m worldwide; UK $20.5m; Mexico $20.4m; France $10.2m; Brazil $9.3m; Australia $8.2m; Italy $7.1m; Spain $6.4m; Germany $5.9m; China $5.5m; S. Korea $4.3m; India $4.1m; Japan $4m.
- The Naked Gun = Paramount Pictures
Opened $16.8m; received positive reviews (90% Rotten Tomatoes) and A- CinemaScore
Took $1.6m from Thursday midnights; No Hard Feelings $2.15m.
It was Liam Neeson’s biggest opening since 2014’s Taken 3 $39.2m.
The Naked Gun was expected to open with $15m–$17m.
It will be the last Paramount Pictures film released before Skydance acquire the studio next week and the last for Brian Robbins before becoming CEO at the studio that directed Coach Carte and Norbit.
The trailer was released in March, having 135m views in seven days. The second trailer had 148m views in its first week. Showing again that high trailer views don’t always turn into a big opening box office.
1988’s The Naked Gun opened $9.33m/$26.91m taking $78.75m/$227.2m
1991’s The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear opened $20.81m/$56.9m taking $86.93m/$237.7m
1994’s Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult opened $13.21m/$37.3m taking $51.13m/$144.3m
Opened with $11.5m internationally and $28.5m worldwide.
- The Bad Guys 2 – Universal Pictures
Opened $21.99m; received positive reviews (88% Rotten Tomatoes) and A CinemaScore.
Took $2.25m from Thursday midnights; Bad Guys $1.15m; Monsters University $2.6m; Elemental $2.4m; The Secret Life of Pets 2 $2.3m; How to Train Your Dragon 2 $2m; The Garfield Movie $1.92m.
1,001st biggest opening just below Chronicle, The Monuments Men and Candyman (2021)
The Bad Guy 2 was expected to open between $20m-$25m.
2022’s The Bad Guys opened $23.95m, taking $97.45m and $250.38m worldwide
Took $16.3m internationally total $22.3m and $44.5m worldwide.
- Superman – Warner Bros
Dropped 44.8% in the fourth weekend $13.7m and $316.06m.
163rd biggest fourth between Doctor Strange and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (close to Deadpool 2, A Few Good Men, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Love and Thunder)
Fourth weekends
1978’s Superman dropped 28% $7.49m/$36.9m and $54.82m/$269.7m of $134.47m/$661.5m and $300.5m/$1.5bn WW
1981’s Superman II dropped 38% $6.74m/$28m and $60.21m/$249.4m of $108.2m/$447.9m and $216.4m/$895.9m WW
1983’s Superman III dropped 47% $3.84m/$14.1m and $47.55m/$173.8m of $59.95m/$219.1m and $80.25m/$293.3m WW
1987’s Superman IV took $15.68m/$46.2m and $30.28m/$89.2m WW
2006’s Superman Returns dropped 40% $7.37m/$13m and $178.34m/$313.4m of $200.8m/$351.6m and $391.1m/$687.3m WW
2013’s Man of Steel dropped 45% $11.41m/$16.2m and $271.18m/$384m of $291.1m/$412.1m and $670.14m/$948.8m WW
Took $11.2m from 79 territories $235m total and $551.2m worldwide; U.K. $32.8m; Mexico $21.8m; Brazil $15.3m; Australia $14.6m; France $13.2m; China $8.9m; Spain $8.9m; India $6.8m; Germany $6.6m; Japan $6.4m; S. Korea $6.3m; Italy $5.9m.
257th biggest worldwide between Aladdin (1992) and Venom: Let There be Carnage; 8th biggest 2025 between F1: The Movie and Captain America: Brave New World; 52nd biggest comic book worldwide between Ant-Man and Venom: Let There be Carnage (close to Iron Man, X-Men: Apocalypse, Thor and Batman) and 44th biggest Warner Bros between F1: The Movie and Twister.
- Jurassic World: Rebirth
Dropped 33.6% in its fifth weekend $8.76m and $317.67m
197th biggest fifth weekend between The Bodyguard and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (close to Get Out, Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Matrix).
Fifth weekends
2015’s Jurassic World dropped 37.9% $18.15m and $590.68m of $653.4m/$892.2m; $1.018bn/$1.39bn internationally $1.671bn/$2.28bn WW
2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom dropped 30.5% $11.26m and $384.16m of $417.71m/$527.8m; $892.74m/$1.13bn internationally and $1.31bn/$1.65bn WW.
2022’s Jurassic World Dominion dropped 47.5% $8.59m and $350.51m of $376.8m/$411.9m; $625.1m/$683.3m internationally and $1.01bn/$1.1bn worldwide
1993’s Jurassic Park dropped 19.6% $15.31m and $236.42m of $407.18m/$1.13bn; $697.1m/$1.93bn and $1.1bn/$3.1bn WW
1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park dropped 35.6% $8.03m and $204.95m of $229.1m/$574.5m; $389.5m/$976.9m internationally and $618.6m/$1.55bn WW
2001’s Jurassic Park 3 dropped 41% $4.44m and $168.32m of $181.17m/$368.4m; $187.6m/$381.5m internationally and $368.78m/$750m WW
Took $16.2m from 82 territories $448.4m total, and $766m worldwide; China $77.4m; UK $42.7m; Mexico $34.2m; Germany $28.4m; France 25.2m; Australia $19.3m; Spain $18.5m.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Freakier Friday is the latest of several released and upcoming legacy sequels released about 20 years after opening.
2003’s Freaky Friday opened £1,214,559/£2,180,188, taking £6,393,998/£11,477,514
The sequel stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. It’s a sequel to 2003’s Freaky Friday, based on Mary Rodgers’s 1972 novel and is the seventh film of the franchise made by Disney since 1976, which includes three TV movie sequels.
It could be compared with the two versions of Mean Girls
2004’s Mean Girls opened £1,393,494/£3,347,770, taking £5,411,323/£9,605,400
2024’s Mean Girls opened £3,251,159, taking £9,229,629
As Freakier Friday will play to tween girls and their mums, August is a good time for tween films.
When Lindsay Lohan starred in Freaky Friday, she had recently starred in Disney’s The Parent Trap and afterwards starred in the original Mean Girls. As many young actors who have had success at a young age have struggled to deal with fame and the press, it’s always much harder on young female actresses.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps will drop about 50% in its third weekend, taking £1.4m-£1.6m
Opening third could be horror Weapons starring Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher, Benedict Wong, and Amy Madigan and written and directed by Zach Cregger.
Zach Cregger previously directed 2022’s Barbarian, and he also wrote the screenplay along with the upcoming Resident Evil reboot. Many years earlier, he wrote the script for the dreadful Miss March in 2009, one of the worst films ever made alongside Freddy Got Fingered.
Zach Cregger said he was inspired to write the Weapons script by 1999’s Paul Thomas Anderson film Magnolia. The script created a bidding war in 2023 between Netflix, New Line Cinema, TriStar Pictures and Universal Pictures; New Line acquired rights. Pedro Pascal was originally cast in the film, but had to drop out due to The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Josh Brolin replaced him.
After receiving positive test screenings, its release date was brought forward from January 2026 to August. It’s been compared with films like What Lies Beneath, The Ring and Sleepy Hollow; likely to open with £1m+, but many horrors have struggled to find audiences this year.
The Naked Gun will drop down to fourth down 30%-40% in its second weekend. Good word of mouth should see it have a decent hold.
The Bad Guys 2 will have a strong hold of fifth, taking £900k+
Opening in three weeks
- The Roses – Disney
Black comedy starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Andy Samberg, Allison Janney, Zoë Chao and Kate McKinnon and directed by Jay Roach; based on the 1981 novel The War of the Roses by Warren Adler, and a remake of the 1989 film.
Yet another Disney reimagination of a 20th Century Fox film is likely to be inferior to the original despite the talent involved. With Disney releasing it at the end of the summer shows, Disney have little interest in it, as surely with that cast and being directed by Jay Roach would have thought Disney would have held it back to September, premiering it at the Toronto Film Festival.
Back in 1989, many cinemagoers (including me) thought The War of the Roses was a continuation of the Romancing the Stone universe. Same stars (Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito), same tone (at first), and a misleading trailer that felt like a reunion rather than a savage domestic satire.
Problem: Disney has little real interest in Searchlight’s drama slate post-acquisition, like Nightbitch and See How They Run, but it has had success with The Menu also opened in August. 2020’s Downhill remake (Force Majeure) is a similar film to The Roses was one of the first films Disney released through Searchlight Pictures and flopped.
- Caught Stealing – Sony Pictures
Black comedy crime thriller starring Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio, Griffin Dunne, Bad Bunny, and Carol Kane and directed by Darren Aronofsky, based on his book of the same name.
Darren Aronofsky’s films often polarise audiences after receiving positive reviews. His previous films include 2000’s Requiem for a Dream, 2006’s The Fountain, and 2017’s Mother! And also directed 2010’s Black Swan and 2014’s Noah.
If Sony Pictures had high expectations for Caught Stealing and Disney with The Roses, they would have opened in September after the Toronto/Venice Film Festival premiere.
- Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (20th Anniversary) – Warner Bros
Over the last four years, Warner Bros have been re-releasing the Harry Potter films, celebrating their 20th anniversary.
2021’s Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone opened £965,008
2022’s Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets opened £454,250
2024’s Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban opened £394,066
- Jaws (50th Anniversary Re-Issue) – Universal Pictures
2022’s Jaws re-release last weekend opened with £524,233 from 447 screens
