Movies

Fantastic Four Breaks Ticket Sales Record, But Were Claims of Site Crashes Just Hype?

BBG News

It’s been announced that Marvel Studios’ film, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, has broken records for advance ticket sales in 2025 on Fandango, surpassing the initial-day presale figures of every movie launched so far this year.

Based on a statement from the ticket sales company, the movie surpassed “A Minecraft Film,” “Lilo & Stitch,” “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” and “Jurassic World: Dominion” in terms of initial interest.

Jerramy Hainline, Executive Vice President at Fandango, commented on the film’s performance.

Isn’t this Fantastic?

As a die-hard movie enthusiast, I can’t contain my excitement! Marvel’s The Fantastic Four took the box office by storm on its opening day, outperforming every film released this year so far. Have you grabbed your tickets yet? The adventure awaits!

— Fandango (@Fandango) June 5, 2025

He stated that the release, titled “The Fantastic Four: First Steps“, signifies a thrilling commencement for one of Marvel’s most recognized groups. Preliminary ticket sales suggest that the audience is keen to witness these characters being reinterpreted for a contemporary audience.

Strong Start, but History Tempers Expectations

Although this movie’s first-day earnings are a record for any film releasing in 2025 on Fandango, it’s crucial to remember that these figures only represent a part of the overall advance ticket sales market. Fandango is just one sector of the domestic box office and doesn’t factor in global pre-orders or ticket sales from walk-up audiences.

Furthermore, having a powerful start doesn’t always guarantee box office triumph. In fact, some recent Marvel films with robust initial ticket sales (such as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) have seen significant declines because of poor critical response or lukewarm audience responses.

In simpler terms, Quantumania debuted with a whopping $106 million domestically, making it the top opening for the Ant-Man franchise. But, surprisingly, its earnings dropped by an impressive 69% in its second weekend, which was a record-breaking, steep decline among all Marvel Cinematic Universe films at that point.

Despite this, it seems that “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” has surpassed the opening box office sales of films that eventually became commercial successes. For instance, “Lilo & Stitch” has already grossed over $632.6 million globally, and “A Minecraft Movie” is nearing the $950 million milestone.

Notably, no American film has yet crossed the billion-dollar threshold in 2025.

Doubts Emerge Over Reported Ticketing “Crashes”

After the tickets for Fantastic Four went on sale, various entertainment news sources and influential personalities stated that ticket selling platforms were encountering downtime because of excessive demand. Yet, this explanation has sparked doubts among certain analysts and internet users.

Matt McGloin’s report from Cosmic Book News casts doubt on the “crashing” assertions, pointing out that the majority of significant ticketing platforms continued to function throughout the supposed surge in demand.

McGloin stated that tickets for the Fantastic Four are now available, but a tweet is trending on X suggesting that due to overwhelming interest, ticket sites are crashing. However, upon closer inspection, it appears the ticket websites are functioning properly and the number of sold Fantastic Four tickets seems relatively low (thus far).

Demand for ‘FANTASTIC FOUR’ tickets is causing theater websites and apps to crash

— ScreenTime (@screentime) June 4, 2025

A viral post shared by several users originated from an account known for spreading doubtful rumors about the casting of The Legend of Zelda live-action movie. These rumors were definitively refuted by That Park Place. Later, a community update on X was added to the post stating that ticket sites are functioning smoothly, as confirmed by Cosmic Book News.

According to Cosmic Book News, although some users attributed temporary issues on platforms like AMC’s ticketing app to heavy traffic, the number of reported outages (only 12) recorded by tools like Down Detector is deemed inadequate to substantiate claims of widespread disruptions.

Some are using Downdetector as evidence that movie websites crashed due to Fantastic Four ticket sales. However, only 12 instances were reported (which doesn’t necessarily mean they actually went down). It could be Marvel enthusiasts trying to stir up artificial excitement, a clever attempt but not foolproof. Here’s your welcome mat…

— Cosmic Book News (@cosmicbooknews) June 5, 2025

Additionally, the website mentioned that numerous tickets for initial performances were still up for grabs, as certain users acknowledged their status as among the first purchasers for typical Thursday screenings.

The article also proposed a possibility that some viral rumors could be intentionally spread to create a false sense of scarcity or fear of missing out (FOMO) regarding ticket purchases, but so far, no concrete proof has surfaced to back this claim up.

AMC app crashing? LOL. AMC is also offering 20% discount for the first 2pm showing. 🥸

— Cosmic Book News (@cosmicbooknews) June 4, 2025

Currently, it’s undecided whether mainstream media will support or contradict the “ticket site crash” storyline as we get more definite sales figures. Forecasts for the box office earnings of The Fantastic Four: First Steps will likely start once tracking companies share their preliminary predictions later in this month.

A Larger Test Lies Ahead

The upcoming Superman reboot from Warner Bros. and DC, helmed by director James Gunn, will start taking ticket purchases next week.

Since the two movies are releasing almost simultaneously, their box office earnings are expected to be scrutinized quite closely. Experts will keep a close eye on whether “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” can sustain its strong opening at the box office in terms of ticket sales.

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2025-06-06 16:57

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