Fantastic Four bombing at US box office

LOS ANGELES — Fantastic Four is struggling to find its footing at the box office this weekend, suggesting that not even superheroes are immune to poor reviews.

Early estimates show the 20th Century Fox release struggling to hit US$30 million (S$41.5 million) for the weekend, which is well below the anticipated mid-US$40 million mark. Should the estimates keep plummeting, the opening could prove disastrous for the studio, which spent US$120 million on the pic.

Thursday night (Aug 6) previews for Fantastic Four pulled in a lukewarm US$2.7 million at 2,900 locations.

The last major superhero release to premiere under US$35 million was Sony’s The Green Hornet in 2011 (US$33.5 million).

In addition to Fantastic Four’s not-so-fantastic 9 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a damning tweet from the film’s own director, Josh Trank, suggested that even he was disappointed with the final cut. Kate Mara, Michael B Jordan, Jamie Bell and Miles Teller star in the reboot.

Last weekend’s champ, Mission Impossible — Rogue Nation, is tracking close behind Fantastic Four with an estimated US$27 million weekend. The fifth installment in Paramount’s Tom Cruise franchise should reach US$100 million domestically by Monday.

This weekend’s other domestic releases include thriller, The Gift, is on track for US$8.5 million for the weekend. Joel Edgerton, Rebecca Hall and Jason bateman star in the STX Entertainment release.

Meryl Streep starrer Ricki and the Flash is performing similarly to The Gift. The TriStar release, about an aging rocker reconnecting with her family, looks poised for a debut between US$6 million and US$7 million.

The animated Shaun the Sheep bowed Wednesday to a disappointing US$852,000, suggesting a weekend total around US$6 million. VARIETY.COM/REUTERS