In case you haven't heard, Fantastic Four didn't do so hot at the box office this weekend. Premiering in the number two slot domestically, the film made way less money than what was estimated, and is being widely considered a flop. But just because the movie didn't do well apparently doesn't mean that 20th Century Fox is ready to give up just yet - and they've made an official statement to put that on the record.
Following the return of box office numbers for the weekend, The Hollywood Reporter reached out to the studio for comment about the future of the would-be franchise. In his response, Fox Domestic Distribution Chief Chris Aronson wouldn't talk about the status of Fantastic Four 2 - which is currently scheduled to come out in the summer of 2017 - but he did say that Fox is "committed" to the superhero characters and their potential. Said Aronson,
While we're disappointed, we remain committed to these characters and we have a lot to look forward to in our Marvel universe.
Right now, Fox finds itself in a key position where important decisions must be made about the future, and while Chris Aronson sounds confident about the future of Marvel's First Family at the studio, surely there are others who are wondering if other measures need to be taken. If they want to stay confident, there is the option of moving forward with a canonical sequel, or trying to maneuver a crossover with the X-Men. The less appealing choices for them, however, would be to either put the characters in hibernation and eventually work another reboot, or to cut their losses by selling the rights back to Marvel Studios. No matter which option is chosen, it will be interesting to watch the process behind the decision as well as the ultimate fallout of the entire situation.
Right now, things are definitely not looking good for Josh Trank's Fantastic Four. The movie was made for a reported $122 million (a number that doesn't include the expense of marketing), and even with foreign box office totals included the film only managed to make a slim $60.3 million in its first three days of release. Audiences also aren't very happy with the outcome, which has resulted in a "C-" Cinema Score - but that pales in comparison to the 9 percent the film currently has from reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes.
In the next few weeks, we will surely be hearing a lot more about what's going on with the future of the Fantastic Four, and the conversation could wind up being very interesting for the future of comic book movies in general. Stay tuned for more updates... and whether or not Fantastic Four 2 will actually come out on June 9, 2017.
