With The Fantastic Four: First Steps estimated for a difficult 66-percent box office drop from its respectable opening weekend of $118 million domestic, the comic book movie giant has watched its 2025 strategy lose some of the core audience that cemented the MCU as appointment viewing for years... the average moviegoers.

But since the COVID, the studio has only prospered with entries led by familiar properties such as “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,