It’s been a very interesting few days for Fox’s Fantastic Four reboot. There were rumours earlier this year about behind the scenes issues between director Josh Trank and the studio, and the overwhelmingly negative reviews for the movies – it currently has a 9% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes – made it clear that something must have gone horribly wrong.
Trank actually confirmed that on Thursday just hours before Fantastic Four opened in the US with a now deleted Tweet which read: “A year ago, I had a fantastic version of this. And it would have received great reviews. You’ll probably never see. That’s reality though.”
Analysts have predicted that his Tweet may have cost the reboot as much as $10 million at the North American box office, something which might explain why it debuted at #2 behind Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation with an abysmal $26.2 million. It didn’t fare much better overseas either, with a dismal $34.1 million from 43 markets for a total of $60.3 million.
This is one of the worst ever openings for a Marvel movie, while the C- CinemaScore from moviegoers in America makes it one of the worst received releases ever to hit cinemas!
There have also been conflicting reports about who was responsible for the way Fantastic Four turned out. Trank’s on set behaviour has been described as destructive and hostile, while Fox are said to have pushed him to breaking point by slashing the budget and making last minute changes to the movie. Ultimately, it seems there were faults on both sides.
So, what’s next for the franchise? That 2017 sequel now seems unlikely, while it’s hard to imagine Fox wanting to taint the X-Men franchise with that rumoured crossover. As a result, the majority of comic book fans are hoping that the rights will return to Marvel Studios…
