Superman and The Fantastic Four: First Steps are not only victories for DC and Marvel but also proof that iconic titles still have the power to dominate the big screen as they head into the final stretch of 2025. Let us also take a look at the current box office numbers of the two superhero titles (numbers retrieved via Box Office Mojo ):

So, here are the five reasons I believe that “Fantastic Four: First Steps” beats “Superman.” “Fantastic Four’s” biggest strength is how it successfully balances its four main players, the eponymous quartet, ensuring that each is given their moment to shine, while also feeling part of a superhero team as well.

Even before they released, just two weeks apart from one another, we knew that Superman and The Fantastic Four: First Steps would have a lot in common. Both movies feature founding characters from the comics, both embrace the qualities that made their characters uncool in the past, and both have a hopeful, optimistic tone.

First Steps is coming in lighter than projections in its first box office weekend with $117.6 million. Still records were broken.

For the past two weeks now, I’ve gone to the movies. That’s probably the first time in a half decade or so that I’ve actually chosen to buy tickets, make the drive out to the Lawrence multiplex, and watch two films on two successive Sundays.

Summer's two biggest superhero films pick up long after their central figures have already taken up their respective mantles. They (and the genre) are better for it.

That might sound like no big deal, but after 2023’s “The Marvels,” this spring’s fourth “Captain America” movie and “Thunderbolts*” all underperformed by Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) standards, the new “Fantastic Four” may offer broader audience appeal by not pulling from other franchises.

We've got two top-notch comic-book movies in theaters: "Superman" and a new "Fantastic Four." How do they rank among the best superhero movies ever?