'Fantastic Four Sequel' News Update: Will Fox Work with Marvel After Reboot Flopped?
"Fantastic Four" has flopped at the box office getting beat by "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation."
The 20th Century reboot opened to a meager $26 million, far behind the original projected $40 million. The disappointing result comes after the film scored negative reviews landing a dismal 9 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and bad press.
The foreign box office also fell short to "Mission: Impossible" as it only made $34 million.
"Fantastic Four" was Fox's attempt at redeeming the 2005 and 2007 films which were critically panned and ridiculed by fans. However, those films opened above $50 million and ended up making over $150 million domestically.
The new film cost $120 million to make and, after the debut this past weekend, this reboot will unlikely make $100 million. It should end its run closer to the $70 million mark. That would be the lowest total for such an established franchise.
After all, "Fantastic Four" is the oldest Marvel comic and the characters are among the most beloved by fan boys and comic book lovers. However, over the years it seems the studios have not done justice to the characters.
Fox currently owns both "Fantastic Four" and "X-Men," both of which the studio has taken advantage of.
The studio has produced a number of X-Men films, of which most have been successful financially and critically. However, "Fantastic Four" continues to be a mystery.
But it is not the only studio that has difficulty with reboots. Sony rebooted "Spider-Man" in 2012 after "Spider-Man 3" failed to please audiences and director Sam Raimi decided to quit due to issues with the studio.
The 2012 reboot received good reviews but fans were disappointed by the lack of an original story and a faulty villain. The movie went on to make $262 million, which was far less than the first "Spider-Man" which was released in 2002.
The second installment "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" was released in 2014 and opened to an impressive $91 million. However, it was marred by mixed reviews and the movie ended up making $202 million. It became the lowest grossing "Spider-Man" film ever. Like critics, fans were disappointed by the number of villains the film had and it was compared to "Spider-Man 3," which audiences were disappointed by.
Additionally, Sony attempted to expand the "Spider-Man" world with this film but ended up canceling all further plans for a third, fourth and fifth film. The studio also cancelled the Sinister Six film it had planned.
As a result, Sony's next plan was to team up with Marvel and include the superhero in the Avengers. A new Spider-man is already cast and the studio plans to make a new reboot in 2017 with Marvel.
Perhaps Fox will have to do this with Fantastic Four. After all, the property is Marvel's and fans are most likely interested in seeing how these four heroes interact with the rest of the Avengers. Additionally it could boost up the profile for any plans of a reboot.
It could also ensure that the scripts combine comedy with great action and drama. Fox could also test out the grounds to see if it is also willing to bring X-Men into the Avengers world.
While fans await a decision on the Fantastic Four, Fox is most likely preparing to declare a loss on the film and will most likely cancel any further plans at a sequel.