First Steps’ Overtakes a $200 Million Franchise-Killing Bomb at the Global Box Office

It’s been a couple of years now, but there has been no real update about the dormant Transformers franchise. The last live-action installment, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, underperformed at the box office, but ended with a hot tease: a long-awaited crossover between two Hasbro properties. After years of build-up, it finally seemed like the Transformers and G.I. Joe were going to unite. But that movie has obviously not gotten off the ground yet. In fact, with the ongoing behind-the-scenes action at Paramount, it would be wise to wait for an official announcement about the series’ future. It would also make sense to wait for official word from Marvel about the future of The Fantastic Four, beyond their upcoming appearance in next year’s Avengers: Doomsday. As of now, The Fantastic Four: First Steps can enjoy the achievement of having overtaken Rise of the Beasts at the global box office.

The movie has made a grand total of $439 million globally, which puts it marginally ahead of Rise of the Beasts. Produced on a reported budget of $200 million, the Transformers film was released to mixed reviews a couple of years ago. It was directed by Steven Caple Jr., who’d previously made the acclaimed Creed II, taking over from Ryan Coogler. He’s attached to a sequel to I Am Legend next. Rise of the Beasts is sitting at a 51% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “Thanks to some genuine human drama between the set pieces and palpable affection for the title characters, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is one of the franchise’s more enjoyable outings.” The movie’s 91% audience score on RT was an encouraging sign that didn’t exactly translate into box office revenue.

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Overall, Rise of the Beasts was better-received than the final few Transformers films in Michael Bay‘s tenure, although the best-reviewed installment of the lot remains Travis Knight‘s Bumblebee. Even that movie, which cost much less and was relatively small-scale, grossed over $450 million globally. Meanwhile, The Fantastic Four is underperforming as well. Produced on a reported budget of over $200 million, the movie marks Marvel’s third underperformer of the year, after Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*. What makes the movie’s underwhelming performance all the more strange is that it received positive reviews from both critics and crowds. Marvel is going to be scratching its head about this one for a while. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Release Date

July 25, 2025

Runtime

115 minutes

Director

Matt Shakman

Writers

Jeff Kaplan, Josh Friedman, Ian Springer, Eric Pearson, Kat Wood, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee