‘Fantastic Four’ scores Marvel's first $100 million opening

LOS ANGELES

Marvel’s first family has finally found box office gold. “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” the first film about the superheroes made under the guidance of Kevin Feige and the Walt Disney Co., earned $118 million in its first weekend in 4,125 North American theaters, according to studio estimates on July 27.

That makes it the fourth biggest opening of the year, behind “A Minecraft Movie,” “Lilo & Stitch” and “Superman,” and the biggest Marvel opening since “Deadpool & Wolverine” grossed $211 million out of the gate last summer. Internationally, “Fantastic Four” made $100 million from 52 territories, adding up to a $218 million worldwide debut. The numbers were within the range the studio was expecting.

The film arrived in the wake of another big superhero reboot, James Gunn's “Superman,” which opened three weekends ago and has already crossed $500 million globally. That film, from the other main player in comic book films, DC Studios, took second place with $24.9 million domestically.

“First Steps” is the latest attempt at bringing the superhuman family to the big screen, following lackluster performances for other versions. The film, based on the original Marvel comics, is set during the 1960s in a retro-futuristic world led by the Fantastic Four, a family of astronauts-turned-superhuman from exposure to cosmic rays during a space mission.