July 10, 2005
Fantastic Four' Fires Up U.S. Box Office
The superhero movie "Fantastic Four" overcame some of the worst reviews of the year to top the North American box office with better-than-expected weekend ticket sales of $56 million, its distributor 20th Century Fox said on Sunday.
The News Corp.-owned studio had hoped for an opening in the mid- to high-$30 million range. The film, which cost a little over $100 million to make, is based on characters in the comic book stable of Marvel Enterprises Inc., and had been in the works for 11 years.
"Fantastic Four," which revolves around a quartet imbued with special powers such as invisibility and elasticity after a space mission gone wrong, appeared to fill moviegoers' desire for something "light and frothy," said Fox distribution president Bruce Snyder.
But critics were unimpressed. The New York Times said the film was "fantastic only its commitment to mediocrity," while USA Today was marginally kinder, calling it a "ho-hum futuristic foray."
The film's less-than-stellar cast includes Jessica Alba and Michael Chiklis. It was directed by Tim Story, best known for the urban comedy "Barbershop."
Posted by MK Magazine at July 10, 2005 03:19 PM