Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer movie with Chris Evans, Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, and Michael Chiklis.- Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer movie box office: Tim Story’s Fantastic Four sequel was the domestic market’s unsurprising no. 1 title on the final weekend of spring – but will it be enough of a hit to justify its nine-figure budget? Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis star.
Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer movie box office: Fantastic Four sequel lands atop the domestic chart – but will it outgross the original?
June 15–17 weekend box office: On the last weekend of spring 2007, 20th Century Fox’s Tim Story-directed Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer was the no. 1 title in North America (U.S. and Canada only), grossing a solid $58.1 million from 3,959 theaters according to final studio figures found at boxofficemojo.com.
The not-so-good news: The Fantastic Four sequel – which cost a reported $130 million (as always, not including marketing and distribution expenses) – was only slightly ahead of the $56 million opening-weekend take of its 2005 predecessor. Fantastic Four went on to earn $154.7 million in the domestic market, in addition to $178.9 million overseas. Worldwide total: $333.5 million. Budget: $100 million.
In the Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Kerry Washington, Doug Jones, Andre Braugher, and Oscar nominee Laurence Fishburne (What’s Love Got to Do with It, 1993).
Sequel less successful than the original – but far more successful than the reboot
Update: Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer ultimately trailed the original movie, collecting $131.9 million domestically and $170 million internationally. Worldwide total: $301.9 million.
That was a money-losing amount that helps to explain why there would be no more sequels.
Not helping this particular Marvel brand, the 2015 Fantastic Four reboot turned out to be a costly ($120 million) dud, raking in only (relatively speaking) $167.9 million worldwide. In the cast: Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kata Mara, Jamie Bell, and Toby Kebbell. Josh Trank was credited for the direction of the troubled production.
Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer’s top international markets were the United Kingdom/Ireland ($24.7 million), Mexico ($16.4 million), France ($13.9 million), Spain ($10.5 million), Italy ($10 million), South Korea ($9.3 million), Brazil ($9 million), Australia ($8.2 million), and Japan ($8 million).
Ocean’s Thirteen with More weekend box office news: Ocean’s Thirteen & Knocked Up
Trailing Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer was the previous weekend’s top movie (and another sequel), Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Thirteen, which brought in $19.7 million. Cume to date of this Warner Bros. release: $70.4 million.
In the Oscar-pedigreed cast (winners and/or nominees): George Clooney (Syriana, 2005), Brad Pitt (12 Monkeys, 1995), Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting, 1997), Al Pacino (Scent of a Woman, 1992), Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda, 2004), Andy Garcia (The Godfather: Part III, 1990), Scott Caan, Ellen Barkin, Vincent Cassel, and trash TV talk show hostess Oprah Winfrey (The Color Purple, 1985) as herself.
Ocean’s Thirteen cost a reported $85 million – as much as Ocean’s Eleven (2000) but less than Ocean’s Twelve ($110 million).
Lastly, Judd Apatow’s romantic comedy Knocked Up – like the upcoming Juno, about the unintended consequences resulting from an unintended pregnancy – was the no. 3 title on the weekend box office chart, scoring $14.1 million. Cume to date: $90 million.
In the cast: Katherine Heigl, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, and adult film star Stormy Daniels. Plus cameos by Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer’s Jessica Alba, James Franco, Eva Mendes, and Steve Carell. Budget: $30 million.
Global hits
Update: The George Clooney-Brad Pitt romp Ocean’s Thirteen ultimately collected $117.15 million domestically and $194.15 million internationally. Worldwide total: $311.3 million.
That should have been enough to make it profitable.
Its top international markets were Japan ($27.3 million), the United Kingdom/Ireland ($26.5 million), Germany ($17 million), France ($13.6 million), Spain ($11 million), Australia ($10.4 million), and South Korea ($9.7 million).
Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up ultimately collected $148.8 million domestically – $31 million more than the pricier, star-studded Ocean’s Thirteen – in addition to $71.1 million internationally (that’s where the big names would have helped). Worldwide total: $219.9 million.
That should have been enough to make it highly profitable.
The top overseas markets for this comedy without any major international box office draws were, as so often happens, two Anglophone territories: The United Kingdom/Ireland ($16.4 million) and Australia ($12.5 million). Next in line was Germany ($9.5 million).
“Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer Box Office: To Trail Original?” notes
Unless otherwise noted, “Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer Box Office: To Trail Original?” box office information via Box Office Mojo. Budget info – which should be taken with a grain of salt – via BOM and/or other sources (e.g., the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Screen Daily, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Deadline.com, etc.).
Comments about Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Ocean’s Thirteen, Knocked Up, and other titles being hits/profitable or flops/money-losers at the box office (see paragraph below) are based on the available data about their production budget, additional marketing and distribution expenses (as a general rule of thumb, around 50 percent of the production cost), and worldwide gross (as a general rule of thumb when it comes to the Hollywood studios, around 50–55 percent of the domestic gross and 40 percent of the international gross goes to the distributing/producing companies).
Bear in mind that data regarding rebates, domestic/international sales/pre-sales, and other credits and/or contractual details that help to alleviate/split production costs and apportion revenues are oftentimes unavailable, and that reported international grosses may be incomplete (i.e., not every territory is fully – or even partially – accounted for).
Also bear in mind that ancillary revenues (domestic/global television rights, home video sales, streaming, merchandising, etc.) can represent anywhere between 40–70 percent of a movie’s total take. However, these revenues and their apportionment are only infrequently made public.
Ocean’s Thirteen budget via Paul McDonald’s George Clooney (British Film Institute, 2019).
Michael Chiklis, Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, and Chris Evans Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer movie image: Marvel | 20th Century Fox.
Matt Damon, George Clooney, and Brad Pitt Ocean’s Thirteen movie image: Warner Bros.
“Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer Box Office: To Trail Original?” last updated in June 2023.