LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥 Marvel's first family stumbled in theaters in its second weekend, but still held on to the top spot at the box office.
鈥淭he Fantastic Four: First Steps鈥 earned $40 million from 4,125 North American theaters, a 66% drop from The film was accompanied by comedies and in the top three box office rankings.
The superhero movie dipped significantly more than Marvel's previous film, which took a 55% dive in its second weekend.
鈥淔irst Steps鈥 is the last major blockbuster of the summer. It added nearly $40 million internationally in its second weekend, bringing thefilm's global total to $369 million. The movie's box office drop off was surprising given its strong reviews, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for the data firm Comscore.
Though the movie乌鸦传媒 debut weekend may have given box office results a strong push toward the $4 billion summer benchmark, August is off to a slow start, he said.
鈥淚t's a tough lift, but we might be able to get there. It really means that all the films are gonna have to stand on their own,鈥 Dergarabedian said. 鈥淚t乌鸦传媒 gonna be about getting great reviews, having that staying power, that longevity in the marketplace.鈥
Newcomer comedy 鈥淭he Bad Guys 2鈥 earned second place at the box office this weekend, with $22 million from 3,852 North American theaters. That was on par with projections and also in line with the first movie in the series, which . Paramount乌鸦传媒 slapstick comedy, 鈥淭he Naked Gun,鈥 also in its debut weekend, snagged the third box office spot, earning $17 million from 3,344 locations.
Jim Orr, president of domestic distribution for Universal Pictures, said the solid debut for 鈥淭he Bad Guys 2,鈥 coupled with strong audience reaction scores, 鈥渟hould point to a very long, very successful run through not only the rest of the summer, but really, I think into the fall."
which opened four weekends ago and already crossed $550 million globally, earned $13.8 million domestically this weekend, taking the fourth spot. followed with $8.7 million.
The horror movie had a strong debut weekend, coming in at sixth place and earning $6.8 million domestically, proof that August is a month for edgier and off-beat films, Dergarabedian said.
鈥淭hat乌鸦传媒 what this month is about. It乌鸦传媒 not just about box office," Dergarabedian said. "It乌鸦传媒 also about providing really interesting, rewarding movie-going experiences for audiences.鈥
Dergarabedian said he expects highly-anticipated movies hitting theaters in the next few weeks 鈥 including and Zach Cregger乌鸦传媒 horror movie to give August a needed boost.
The box office is currently up 9.5% from last year.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. 鈥淭he Fantastic Four: First Steps," $40 million.
2. 鈥淭he Bad Guys 2,鈥 $22.2 million.
3. 鈥淭he Naked Gun,鈥 $17 million.
4. 鈥淪uperman,鈥 $13.8 million.
5. 鈥淛urassic World Rebirth,鈥 $8.7 million.
6. 鈥淭ogether,鈥 $6.8 million.
7. 鈥淔1: The Movie,鈥 $4.1 million.
8. 鈥淚 Know What You Did Last Summer,鈥 $2.7 million.
9. 鈥淪murfs,鈥 $1.8 million.
10. 鈥淗ow to Train Your Dragon,鈥 $1.4 million.