Kevin Feige has acknowledged that last summer's Fantastic Four: First Steps underperformed.
The film was released in July 2025 and grossed $521.9 million worldwide, despite being billed as a major Marvel blockbuster and including a post-credits scene that directly set up Avengers: Doomsday.
"Many things can be true at once," Feige told Variety, when asked if Marvel's recent misfires were a sign audiences are tiring of the same story. "I think last year's Fantastic Four looked and sounded like nothing that had been done in a superhero movie before, and it only [grossed] $521 million."
Spider-Man: Brand New Day, in comparison, has beaten Avengers: Endgame's record for the biggest domestic opening of all time and currently sits at $932 million worldwide – after just one weekend.
"Brand New Day is very directly a part four. It picks up right after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home and yet it tells a story that resonates. It's ultimately about loneliness and the dangers of staying in our apartments by ourselves, looking at our phones. That resonates across cultures and across the globe right now," Feige explained.
The Fantastic Four box office was made even more disappointing by the fact that it grossed less than Superman, which also released in July 2025 and ultimately made $618.7 million. However, this year's Supergirl flopped at the box office and currently sits at a global total of just under $126 million.
But we'll soon see Marvel's First Family again in Doomsday. Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby's Sue Storm, Ebon Moss-Bachrach's Ben Grimm, and Joseph Quinn's Johnny Storm are all returning, though plot details are thin on the ground at the moment.
Brand New Day is in theaters now, while Doomsday arrives this December 18. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows for everything else that's on the way.
