First Steps ’ second-week ticket sales called it a cratering, and noted that its week-to-week drop was akin to similar stumbles for past Marvel pariahs Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Thor: Love and Thunder.

First Steps is far from a bomb, but its box office performance does raise questions about how Marvel Studios should proceed going forward.

But since the COVID, the studio has only prospered with entries led by familiar properties such as “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,