Let's Get Reel

February 4th was a big day. McDonald’s announced that the Shamrock Shake is back and Marvel Studios gave us our first look at a small movie called The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

This comes a little over a month after DC released the teaser for their big summer film, Superman. Both films release within just two weeks of each other in July, and both films have a lot riding on them. Marvel’s been on a bit of a rough patch since Endgame with a lot of their films releasing to weaker reviews and box office numbers than before. Superman has to set a strong foundation for the rest of the DCU and prove that James Gunn has the right vision for DC Studios.

Now that we have our first look at both films, let’s see how they compare and guess which film will come out on top as the highest grossing movie of the Summer.

Fantastic Four or Superman: Who had the Better Teaser?

These teasers have very different goals. The Superman teaser is almost a full minute longer than Fantastic Four‘s because it needs to win over lapsed fans as well as the general public who doesn’t think a good Superman movie is possible. Marvel Studios has a lot of goodwill and just needs to show fans that this Fantastic Four movie will be different than in the past.

Despite these differences, both have surprisingly consistent tones. They try to strike a sense of hope and optimism that has been missing in superhero movies as of late.

Superman is brimming with hope. He starts the trailer bloodied and beaten. We see him at his lowest points and know that he’ll keep getting up to do what’s right. And let’s not forget the amazing shots of Superman racing in to protect the little girl from an explosion as well as the little boy holding up a Superman flag in the middle of a warzone. This character is a beacon of hope in a dark world and the teaser captured that perfectly.

The Fantastic Four teaser centers around reintroducing Marvel’s First Family as, well, a family. Reed makes a point of saying that they have family dinners every week on “Sunday at 7 on the dot, no matter what.” Then there are kids running around the street in “The Thing” masks and looking up at this team as their heroes.

The Superman teaser does a much better job as a teaser, but it’s almost too hard to compare the two because of the different runtimes. Regardless, it feels so nice to have two giant movies that center around hope an optimism in a time when the world has never felt more divisive.

Fantastic Four or Superman: Who had Better Reception

The Fantastic Four teaser only came out a mere few hours ago at the time of writing, but the response has largely been positive. Fans have praised The Thing’s design and the decision to finally include H.E.R.B.I.E. in one of these movies. The 60s aesthetic is one of the highlights, as well as a comic accurate Galactus design. There’s a lot that this teaser did right to get fans on board.

When the Superman teaser came out, it felt like a moment in pop culture. It was our first look at a new era of DC films and blew expectations out of the water. Reception was overwhelmingly positive and seemed to get a lot of people on board. This seemed like an easy choice for the biggest movie of the summer.

But as we get closer to July, I think a lot of people will feel similarly about The Fantastic Four, especially if the trailers are all as good as this one. It’s going to be a very tight race.

Fantastic Four or Superman: Who Will Win July?

Predicting what will be the highest grossing movie for Summer 2025 feels like an impossible task. For the sake of this article I’m ignoring Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning as well as Jurassic World Rebirth, two films that could easily take that title. Let’s look at what going for each film.

Superman is the first film in the new DCU which brings a clean slate that I think will feel refreshing to fans. It’s hope and optimism is something audiences will be drawn to, and James Gunn using Top Gun Maverick as inspiration for the flying scenes is genius.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set in an alternate universe from the rest of the MCU, giving it a similar clean slate to mess around with, though it’s undoubtedly going to tie into the larger narrative by the end. That’s where this film has a leg up on Superman. If fans love this film, then it’s going to tie directly into Avengers Doomsday next May and Avengers Secret Wars after that. This film could completely turn things around for Marvel and get the hype train started again.

It’s a tight call, but I think The Fantastic Four will make more money at the box office than Superman. It’s the last blockbuster of the summer, meaning it won’t have the competition that Superman faces with Jurassic World and Fantastic Four, and it could easily be the return to form that Marvel fans have long waited for.

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Catch Superman in theaters July 11 and The Fantastic Four: First Steps in theaters July 25