Why 2015's Fantastic Four Bombed At The Box Office
The Fantastic Four are among the most popular superheroes in the Marvel universe, competing alongside the likes of the X-Men and the Avengers. Created by Stan Lee after encouragement from his wife, Joan, the team made their debut in 1961, becoming so much of a success that they ended up delaying Lee's departure from the comic book business. Since then, they've remained influential figures in both the publication history of Marvel Comics, as well as the in-universe conflicts of the comic book world.
Fans are even more excited to see the group make their debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Phase Six's "Fantastic Four," currently set to be released in 2025. Although the current cast remains a mystery, with rumored names like Vanessa Kirby, Adam Driver, and Paul Mescal circulating, it's certainly one of the most highly-anticipated entries in the MCU's near future. However, it won't be the first or even the second time that Marvel's First Family has appeared on the big screen.
Notably, the last time this happened was in the 2015 20th Century Fox film "Fantastic Four," starring Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, and Jamie Bell as the young scientists who accidentally travel to a parallel dimension and inherit superpowers. Unlike most other films based on Marvel Comics characters, the 2015 "Fantastic Four" film bombed at the box office. Why wasn't it able to replicate the success of other Marvel-themed films? Read on to find out.
What did Fantastic Four make at the box office?
Compared to other superhero films at the time, 2015's "Fantastic Four" had a fairly low budget at approximately $155 million. In contrast, 20th Century Fox's previous Marvel film, "X-Men: Days of Future Past," was budgeted at around $205 million, but it also featured a larger ensemble cast than "Fantastic Four." However, "X-Men: Days of Future Past" eventually totaled a box office performance of $746 million, which seems staggering compared to what "Fantastic Four" pulled in.
Against their $155 million budget, "Fantastic Four" grossed only $167.9 million at the box office, cementing it as one of the biggest box office bombs of the 2010s. This was apparent by the film's opening weekend. While projections for the superhero movie predicted it would top the box office the weekend of its release despite poor reviews, some publications expected it to beat out that Friday's other theatrical releases, which included "The Gift" and "Ricki and the Flash."
Sadly, "Fantastic Four" did not make $40 million on its opening weekend, grossing just over half that with $25.6 million. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it made for "one of the lowest openings of all time for a big-budget studio superhero movie." That means it even grossed less than DC Studios' latest 2023 superhero film, "The Flash," which bombed but has still netted roughly $268.5 million.
The Fantastic Four were a legendary team in the comics
To understand why audiences weren't impressed with 20th Century Fox's reboot of "Fantastic Four," it's important to know how integral the team is to Marvel Comics history. Many characters who went on to reverberate throughout the Marvel universe were introduced with the Fantastic Four, including antagonist Doctor Doom, the mutant Namor, and heroes like Black Panther and Adam Warlock. Particularly, the character of Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic is ranked among the smartest characters in the Marvel universe.
As a team, however, comic book fans gravitated towards the Fantastic Four due to their humanity. The closeness of the four characters — Richards, his childhood friend Ben Grimm, fellow scientist and love interest Sue Storm, and her younger brother Johnny — gave them a dynamic that operated more like a dysfunctional family than a superhero collective. As founder and former CEO of Marvel Studios Avi Arad told Wired in 2005, "If you take 'Fantastic Four,' we get our community at hello. They love it or hate it, but they're coming."
To the detriment of 2015's "Fantastic Four," comic book fans care deeply about these characters and their impact on the Marvel universe. Though in the past they may have been eager to see them on the big screen, their lack of faith in 20th Century Fox might've been enough to keep fans out of theater seats.
What made the 2005 film a box office success?
Another aspect working against the success of 2015's "Fantastic Four" was that movie-going audiences were already familiar with the team whether they were fans of the original comic books or not. Although a B-movie adaptation of the team's early comic book adventures was technically first produced in 1994 as an ashcan copy, it never received an official release and has since lived on through pirating. In 2005, the Fantastic Four finally made their way to the big screen, thanks to 20th Century Fox.
Starring Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis, 2005's "Fantastic Four" remained faithful to the characters' comic book origins, exploring the aftermath of their intergalactic accident and journey to become celebrity superheroes. The film garnered mixed reviews upon release, with The Washington Post criticizing its weak plot and calling it "a movie more based on character than plot." In retrospective reviews, fans have come around on the film's more charming aspects, particularly its characterization of Sue Storm, who in the comics has had an identity revolving around her role as a wife and mother.
Nevertheless, the film was a hit at the box office, grossing $56.1 million on its opening weekend and eventually earning $333.5 million, more than tripling its budget. Though it was successful enough with audiences to spawn a sequel, goodwill towards the Fantastic Four was soon to run out.
A bad reputation followed 2007's Rise of the Silver Surfer
Two years after 20th Century Fox's first "Fantastic Four" film came "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" in 2007. While it also had to live up to the success of the first film, the filmmakers decided to center this outing around the team's confrontations with Silver Surfer and Galactus, two incredibly iconic characters from Marvel Comics. Like the previous film, "Rise of the Silver Surfer" was another box office hit, grossing $301.9 million by the end of its theatrical run.
Reviews this time around weren't as easygoing on the film, with The New York Times particularly scathing, calling it the "existentially and aesthetically unnecessary sequel to the equally irrelevant if depressingly successful 'Fantastic Four.'" Hardcore comic book fans were also harsh towards the film for its depiction of Galactus, the cosmic world-eater from the comics, as a faceless cloud entity.
Future hopes for a third "Fantastic Four" film were eventually dashed by 20th Century Fox, who were apparently disappointed in its diminishing box office returns. Jessica Alba later confessed that her experience filming the 2007 sequel was less than ideal, telling Elle Magazine that "I wanted to stop acting. I hated it. I really hated it." Though the next few years saw plenty of Marvel movies, audiences were clearly showing signs that they were less eager for the team than they used to be.
By 2015, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was still expanding
By the time 20th Century Fox decided to give the Fantastic Four a second chance, the world of comic book movies looked a lot different. 2008's "Iron Man" kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which continued into the 2010s with box office successes like "Captain America: The First Avenger," (which re-purposed Chris Evans, 20th Century Fox's Johnny Storm) "The Avengers," and "Guardians of the Galaxy." The same year as the "Fantastic Four" reboot, the MCU released "Ant-Man," and "Avengers: Age of Ultron."
On the DC side of things, 2013's "Man of Steel" showcased a more gritty superhero universe courtesy of Zack Snyder, following Christopher Nolan's iconic Dark Knight trilogy. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe trended towards more light-hearted fare, outside the MCU were superhero films that featured darker takes on the genre. To make things even more complicated, at the time Disney didn't own several Marvel Comics properties, including the X-Men, Deadpool, and the Fantastic Four.
By choosing to reboot "Fantastic Four" in 2015, 20th Century Fox was still operating outside the parameters and narrative consistency of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, this likely alienated or confused audiences rather than make them more interested in the film, as seeing "Fantastic Four" was not relevant to the goings-on of the Infinity Saga at that point in time.
The state of film reboots in 2015 was not good
It frankly also didn't help 2015's "Fantastic Four" film that the superhero team had already been adapted for film twice before. In 2015, film reboots were as inconsistent in quality as they are today. For instance, the same year that the "Fantastic Four" reboot failed so badly, "Jurassic World" came out, which is currently the eighth highest-grossing film of all time, as did "Mad Max: Fury Road," which won six Academy Awards.
Alongside the release of "Fantastic Four," however, was "Terminator Genisys," featuring the highly-anticipated return of Arnold Schwarzenegger as the titular cyborg as well as Emilia Clarke taking over the iconic role of Sarah Connor. It underwhelmed at the box office, garnering harsh criticism from critics as well as its stars, with Clarke openly admitting that "No one had a good time" on the set of the film (via Vanity Fair). Even the crew of 2015's "Fantastic Four," which filmed nearby "Terminator Genisys," made jackets that read "AT LEAST WE'RE NOT ON TERMINATOR," according to Clarke.
Suffice it to say, reboots already had a bad reputation among filmmakers and audiences alike leading up to the release of "Fantastic Four." To learn from the lessons of its peers, it would've needed to showcase a lot of originality and inventiveness to attract audiences.
Casting choices led to online controversy
Casting is a huge part of the success of any film, especially when adapting iconic characters like the Fantastic Four, as proven recently by rumors circling the Marvel Cinematic Universe's new reboot. For the 2015 film, however, which was directed by Josh Trank, casting decisions were made that should've seemed ideal. "Whiplash" actor Miles Teller was chosen for Reed Richards, while "House of Cards" alumni Kate Mara joined as Sue Storm.
For the role of Johnny Storm, Trank cast Michael B. Jordan prior to his breakthrough role as Adonis Creed in the "Rocky" reboot "Creed," which was also released in 2015. It should've been a genius decision by Trank, but many comic book fans, unfortunately, pushed back against the idea of casting a Black actor in a role that has traditionally been portrayed as white. Trank later expressed that he had wanted to cast a black actress as Sue Storm, too, but faced resistance from the studio.
As Jordan later wrote for Entertainment Weekly, "Maybe, if I set an example, Hollywood will start considering more people of color in other prominent roles, and maybe we can reach the people who are stuck in the mindset that 'it has to be true to the comic book.'" Nevertheless, the casting was the subject of over-the-top criticism from a vocal minority of comic book enthusiasts, with Trank confessing he received death threats over it before the film had even entered production.
Josh Trank clashed with Fox throughout production
Unfortunately, things didn't smooth out for director Josh Trank or the rest of the cast as "Fantastic Four" entered production in 2014. After rewrites occurred during filming that changed Trank's original vision, executives at 20th Century Fox ordered extensive reshoots to take place only months away from its scheduled 2015 release. Reports of on-set conflict between Trank, producers, and even the film's stars — whether true or not — plagued the film throughout production and marketing.
This conflict stretched even into the editing process, with Trank later naming editor Stephen E. Rivkin as "the de-facto director" due to the significant edits that were made without Trank signing off on them (via Polygon). Ultimately, the problems boiled down to Trank's interest in giving the film a darker tone than the studio had wanted for their superhero flick. As a result, the final product was in a strange limbo between the comedic MCU blockbusters and the gritty DC action movies.
The drama came to a head the day before the film was released, when Trank posted a tweet that seemingly denounced the final cut of the film (which has since been deleted). If the film wasn't destined to fail before this moment, Trank certainly cemented its legacy right then and there. Months of speculation about conflict with 20th Century Fox was confirmed, and subsequently, many fans who had plans to see "Fantastic Four" on its opening weekend were potentially deterred.
The trailer promised a serious superhero movie
Prior to its release, there was plenty of hype for "Fantastic Four" during the promotional period, thanks to the moviegoing audience's faith in the assembled cast. Even the trailer was enough to excite potential audiences, with The Hollywood Reporter ironically giving it credit for staying faithful to the original comics: "Its rejection of familiar superhero tropes, and subsequent recasting of the property as science fiction ... is far more in keeping with the original intent of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby than anyone had any right to expect."
The supposed seriousness of "Fantastic Four" continued to be a highlight in its pre-release trailers as anticipation built before it finally premiered. However, it wasn't until after it was released and reviews came pouring in that this tonal shift from previous Marvel Comics adaptations was designated as a flaw rather than a positive aspect of the film.
Perhaps part of this criticism was a result of a perceived lack of adherence to the goofiness and absurdity of Marvel Comics, or perhaps instead to Trank's original pitch for the film. As Trank described to The Los Angeles Times, he pitched 20th Century Fox president Emma Watts "a movie where we'd make the science modern and the accident where they get their powers would play out as a horror scene." For some audiences, the promise of seriousness in a superhero movie may have been unwanted, while for others the gravitas they hoped for didn't go far enough.
Its opening weekend saw it competing with another huge film franchise
Despite being categorized as a box office bomb, 20th Century Fox's "Fantastic Four" reboot's opening returns were higher than the other films released that same weekend. "Fantastic Four" eventually came in at number 2, losing the first place spot to "Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation," which was then in its second weekend of topping the box office, and wouldn't drop below it until the week after the release of "Fantastic Four," when the N.W.A. biopic "Straight Outta Compton" debuted at number one.
Fortunately for the action film starring Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson, "Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation" was not only banking on a highly successful film franchise name, but it also was pulling in strong numbers thanks to being shown in IMAX theaters. "Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation" continued to outshine "Fantastic Four" internationally, which The Hollywood Reporter attributed to Trank's lack of support for the film just before its release.
Subsequent weeks at the box office weren't as ideal. By its second weekend, the film's box office returns dropped nearly 70%, and by week three it was barely hanging onto tenth place.
Critics did not hold back on their hatred for the film
Once reviews from critics and fans alike poured in for the 2015 "Fantastic Four" reboot, it was clear that Trank's disownment of the film prior to its release was likely a smart move. As of 2023, the film rests at an appalling 9% on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, while CinemaScore gave it a slightly better grade at a C- — still a record low for a blockbuster superhero film.
Harshness was not spared from reviews for "Fantastic Four," with critics slamming the film for its tone, narrative, and lack of character development. IGN pointed out that continuity errors throughout the film indicated the carelessness of its studio-mandated reshoots, later questioning at the end of their review, "Would general audiences ever be able to associate the movie brand of 'Fantastic Four' with anything but mediocrity?"
Other reviews were just as scathing, with Peter Travers of Rolling Stone calling it "the cinematic equivalent of malware" in his one-star review. To add insult to injury, the film netted several nominations at the 2016 Golden Raspberry Awards, where Trank won worst director and the film tied with "Fifty Shades of Grey" for worst picture.
Its legacy in meme culture continues its mockery
Despite its flawed intentions, poor reviews, tumultuous production, and disappointing box office performance, "Fantastic Four" has certainly not been forgotten by the general audience of comic book movie lovers. That's partly a good thing, considering that it makes for a great example of how to not cater to fans. However, the film also has the privilege of getting to live on through sheer mockery of its mediocrity, and what better way is there to do that than through Internet memes?
In one clip from the film that's gone viral numerous times, Miles Teller's Reed Richards comes up with the group's name after the Thing calls them "fantastic," but the screen cuts to black before Reed reveals what he came up with. Moments like these seem almost designed for the Internet to mock.
More than anything, it's unfortunate for fans of the Fantastic Four's comic book origins that the group has never had a perfect translation to the big screen like other Marvel heroes have. Perhaps their time will finally come with the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe adaptation, but given some of Marvel's recent track record, fans shouldn't hold their breath.