The dog days of summer are proving to be unpredictable at the box office. Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps, once expected to be a dominant theatrical force, is rapidly losing momentum. Now in its third weekend, the superhero reboot is expected to bring in just $18 to $20 million — a steep drop from earlier projections.
So far, the film has earned $200 million domestically and $370 million globally, and will soon surpass Thunderbolts ($382M) and Captain America: Brave New World ($415M). But despite being Marvel Studios’ highest-grossing release of 2025 to date, its performance falls short of being a true blockbuster comeback for the studio.
Challenging its position are two wildly different films: the nostalgic comedy sequel Freakier Friday and the spine-chilling horror film Weapons.
Freakier Friday
Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis reprise their iconic roles in Freakier Friday, the sequel to the 2003 body-swap hit Freaky Friday. Directed by Nisha Ganatra (Late Night), the film ups the stakes with a chaotic four-way body swap involving Tess (Curtis), Anna (Lohan), Anna’s daughter, and her new step-daughter.
Produced on a modest $42 million budget, Freakier Friday looks to earn $10 to $12 million internationally during its opening and has already received glowing early reviews. Entertainment Weekly praised the film for “recapturing and strengthening the magic” of the original, crediting its heartfelt humor and ensemble cast, including Chad Michael Murray, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Manny Jacinto, and Julia Butters.
Weapons
Zach Cregger, who broke out with the cult horror hit Barbarian, returns with another twisted tale. Weapons, backed by Warner Bros., is a chilling thriller with a $38 million budget. It stars Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, and Alden Ehrenreich and follows the mysterious disappearance of 17 schoolchildren in a small town — a premise that has already left critics shaken.
Variety’s Peter Debruge called it “a cruel and twisted bedtime story […] the kind where characters kill on command and audiences find it difficult to sleep afterward.”
Box Office Outlook
Despite Fantastic Four’s strong early numbers, the shift in audience tastes post-pandemic is palpable. Viewers are increasingly drawn to either horror with a bite or light-hearted nostalgia, rather than traditional superhero fare. Disney’s calculated risk in betting on a comedy sequel and Warner Bros.’ focus on a smart horror film may pay off in surprising ways.
Comscore reports the box office is currently 9.5% ahead of 2024, but still 23% behind 2019’s pre-pandemic numbers. Summer revenues just crossed $3 billion, but whether the season can reach the $4 billion benchmark remains uncertain.
With the industry still seeking a reliable formula in the post-COVID world, Freakier Friday and Weapons might just be the unexpected sleeper hits the box office needs to round out summer 2025.
