Fantastic Four: First Steps, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s latest theatrical release, has set an unwelcome record on Disney+. Despite earning $521.9 million at the global box office, the film drew just 4.9 million Equivalent Completed Views in its first five days on the platform, the lowest streaming debut for any MCU movie.
The Streaming Squeeze Tightens
Marvel’s challenges extend beyond this single release. In 2025, no MCU theatrical film cracked the global box office top 10. Disney+ viewership for new Marvel titles has dropped sharply. Once a streaming powerhouse since Disney+’s 2019 launch, Marvel now faces eroding dominance as viewers spread across competitors.
A Steady Decline Takes Shape
Nielsen data reveals the downward trend. Eternals logged 9.2 million CVEs in 2022, The Marvels fell to 5.3 million in 2024, and Thunderbolts scraped by with 5.5 million mid-2025. Fantastic Four’s November 5, 2025, debut marked the nadir at 4.9 million—worse than Black Widow’s pandemic-era 5.1 million under a premium rental model. Even with an 86% Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score and A- CinemaScore, theater success failed to carry over to home viewing.
Theater-to-Couch Disconnect
Several factors may explain the gap. Oversaturation hit hard in 2025 with three major MCU releases in quick succession, amplifying subscriber burnout amid choices on Netflix, Max, and Amazon Prime. Marvel’s theatrical window may also affect rewatches, as audiences who paid for cinema tickets potentially skip free streams. Rivals are gaining ground: Netflix with Daredevil: Born Again and Spider-Man projects, Max’s Superman: Legacy, and Amazon’s expanding superhero slate.
Looking to 2026 and Beyond
Marvel banks on Avengers: Doomsday, slated for December 18, 2026, featuring returning stars and Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom, to halt the slide. Yet skeptics doubt it alone can reverse streaming woes, especially without the emotional pull of past hits like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s 14.1 million CVEs. Broader challenges loom: the volume of superhero releases, shifting audience preferences, global fragmentation with piracy and competition eroding Disney+ abroad, and selective viewing driven by buzz. Marvel confronts the need to adapt release strategies, consider extended windows, or target mid-tier films direct-to-streaming to reclaim cultural and streaming relevance.
Sources:
Collider – “The Fantastic Four: First Steps Sets a Very Unfortunate MCU Record on Streaming” (December 10, 2025)
SuperHeroHype – “Fantastic Four Records Worst Disney+ Debut in MCU History” (December 9, 2025)
ComicBook.com – “Fantastic Four: First Steps Sets Unwanted MCU Record in Disney+ Debut” (December 9, 2025)