Receipts: ‘Fantastic Four’ Takes Its ‘First Steps’ To The Top; Aster’s ‘Eddington’ Disappoints

Domestic: Marvel Studios’ newest feature, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, dominated the domestic box office in its opening weekend (Friday, July 25, 2025, to Sunday, July 27, 2025), going on to gross a staggering $117.645 million domestically. With a positive reception boosting the film’s success even further, First Steps currently holds an 87% critic score and a 93% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, cementing the film as an all-around smash hit after a single week.

Set on a retro-inspired futuristic version of Earth, First Steps, which was released on July 25, 2025, brings back the iconic superhero crew of the Fantastic Four, this time with an all-new cast led by Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic. In their latest adventure, the team must defend Earth from the formidable Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his herald, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner), as Galactus plans to devour the planet whole.

Racing to the number four spot, and rising a single spot from last weekend, is F1. The film earned $6.305 million domestically in its fifth week of release, only a moderate 36.2% drop from the previous weekend, bringing its total domestic gross up to a strong $165.657 million.

The eighth spot belongs to Eddington, which grossed just $1.665 million domestically in its second weekend of release. Unfortunately, this is bad news for the film, which already dropped 62.2% from its debut and has only gone on to accrue $8.105 million domestically overall, solidifying the feature as a major box office flop. This is surprising, considering the widespread success of director Ari Aster’s first two films, Hereditary and Midsommar. However, this is less surprising when looking at the film’s all-around subpar reception, only earning a 68% critic score and a less forgiving 63% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Released on Friday, July 18, 2025, Eddington, the newest feature from the twisted mind of Aster, is set in the fictional town of Eddington, New Mexico, in May 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The film follows a bitter feud between Eddington’s sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) and the mayor (Pedro Pascal), which is driven by the two’s opposing views on handling the outbreak. A departure from Aster’s typical horror-driven narratives, Eddington is described as more of a dark comedy, akin to the fever dream that was Beau is Afraid.

International: France’s Souleymane’s Story is set to receive a limited theatrical release in the US, beginning Friday, August 1, 2025. The film, which premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, was featured in the highly competitive Un Certain Regard section. Souleymane’s Story was immediately met with rave reviews, going on to win the coveted Jury Prize and the Performance Prize at Cannes, and has debuted with a stellar 100% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The story follows Souleymane (Abou Sangaré), an asylum-seeking cyclist, as he delivers meals throughout the streets of Paris. Souleymane, however, only has two days to prepare for a crucial meeting that will determine his status as a resident of France. Notably, the story of the film’s lead actor, Abou Sangaré, deeply reflects Souleymane’s, as Sangaré has already been denied citizenship by French authorities.

Beyond domestic domination, First Steps has also dominated box office charts internationally, taking the number one spot in the vast majority of countries during Weekend 30 of 2025 and already bringing in $99.058 million internationally. Altogether, the film currently holds a fantastic worldwide gross of $216.703 million after a single weekend. 

F1 continues to cruise steadily across the globe, with international box office earnings making up 67.6% of the film’s total gross, adding up to $345.2 million earned internationally and a wildly successful worldwide gross of $510.857 million.

Streaming: On Netflix’s Top 10 English Movies list for the week of Monday, July 21, 2025, to Sunday, July 27, 2025, KPop Demon Hunters held the number two spot in its sixth consecutive week in the top 10. This is a great sign for the film, which has remained highly popular since its release, accruing 26.3 million views and 43.9 million hours of viewing time this past week alone.

Madea’s Destination Wedding ranked sixth in its third week in the top 10, with 4.6 million viewers tuning into the film to generate 7.9 million hours of viewing time.

As for Netflix’s Non-English Top 10 list, Wall to Wall rose two spots to take the number one spot for the week of Monday, July 21, 2025, to Sunday, July 27, 2025. Released on Friday, July 18, 2025, Wall to Wall garnered 7.8 million views and 15.4 million hours viewed in its second week of release, achieving the title of number one movie in six countries and a top 10 release in 58 countries. Unfortunately, many viewers have panned the film, giving the feature a rotten 56% critic score and a slightly more lenient 66% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The film centers around Woo-seong (Kang Ha-neul), a man who exhausts the entirety of his life savings on a dream apartment, only to find himself in a nightmare after uncovering disturbing secrets, hostility from neighbors, and a crumbling financial status.

In third place is A Normal Woman, which was released on Thursday, July 24, 2025. The film has already accumulated 6.6 million views, 12.3 million hours viewed, and made the top 10 in 46 countries during its first week of release. The film follows Milla (Marissa Anita), a socialite who contracts an unidentified disease. As her condition worsens, Milla begins to sabotage her own life and must unravel the mystery of her sickness before she loses herself entirely.

Trouble Man is set for both theatrical and VOD releases on Friday, August 1, 2025, after having its premiere at the American Black Film Festival back on Thursday, June 12, 2025. The film follows Jaxen (Michael Jai White), a cop-turned-private investigator working in Atlanta, who is contracted to track down missing R&B star Jahari (La La Anthony). As the investigation unfolds, Jaxen discovers a larger conspiracy at hand, turning what started as a singular missing persons case into something far more dangerous.

Last Swim is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video as of Wednesday, July 23, 2025. The film, which premiered at the Berlinale International Film Festival on Friday, February 16, 2024, tells the story of Ziba (Deba Hekmat), a British-Iranian teen who is torn between celebrating her academic successes with her friends and facing a life-threatening condition that marks her future as uncertain. The feature currently holds a flawless 100% critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.