As of this writing, Fantastic Four: First Steps has earned $142.25 million after five days in North American theaters, jumping an “impressive as Superman” 36% from its $10.4 million Monday for a $14.2 million Tuesday. Concerns about a shockingly frontloaded weekend (barely double its $57 million Friday and 21% of its $117.64 million weekend stemming from Thursday previews) notwithstanding, it’s not like the film is collapsing into oblivion now that the hardcore MCU fans have checked it off their proverbial lists.

That was the general impression offered up in this latest episode of The Box Office Podcast, namely that Marvel’s latest was a step in the right direction (after the also pretty good Thunderbolts*) in terms of consistent quality and (in terms of Marvel rebooting a previously adapted property) “better-than-before” spectacle and melodrama. Beyond that…

Lisa Laman questions whether Shalla-Bal replaced Norrin Radd to allow Johnny Storm to “safely” find himself #HotForTheSurfer (relatable...).

Scott Mendelson wonders if the decision to set the standalone film in a fantastical version of 1960s America was an attempt to avoid dealing with real-world topicality.

Jeremy Fuster offers pretty plausible explanations for both (subjectively valid) choices. However, he agrees with the group that any goodwill earned from the Fantastic Four will do little to move the needle in terms of Avengers: Doomsday feeling (at this juncture) like anything other than a past-tense nostalgia cash-in.

However, as befitting his status as the host of the show, Scott Mendelson (when he’s not making fun of crying children) asks the most critical question: how the hell can an interdimensional being who is barely as tall as Godzilla eat an entire planet?

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