Renowned game creator Hideo Kojima has publicly shared his admiration for Fantastic Four: First Steps, describing it as a “truly fantastic” film and highlighting its unique stylistic approach. His detailed impressions, posted on his official Twitter (X) account, come amid ongoing box office discussions surrounding the movie’s second weekend performance.
In his post, Kojima praised the film’s meticulous dedication to recreating a 1960s aesthetic, noting its consistent design elements across fashion, vehicles, media, and even food branding. “Watching ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps.’ Not only the fashion, color schemes, design, cityscapes, TV and anime programs, costumes and spacesuits, rockets, and cars, but even corporate names, food items (cereals, soft drinks), and storage media (magnetic tapes, discs) are thoroughly created with a 1960s look and sense of the future,” Kojima stated.
He further compared the film’s tone to Bewitched, a show he recalled fondly from childhood, and to The Incredibles, emphasizing its family-centered narrative. Kojima also connected the film’s style to broader post-pandemic trends in superhero cinema, noting a shift from darker, realistic storytelling to more nostalgic and colorful presentations.
Pointing to the film’s efficient storytelling, Kojima praised its use of an in-universe television program to explain the team’s powers and status. He remarked, “If they carefully depicted from the beginning how they became superhumans, it would become explanatory and hurt the pacing… The plot is structured so that audiences can smoothly get drawn in from the point where ‘they’ form a new family.” Kojima concluded his comments by calling the movie a successful reboot: “In terms of being the ‘First Steps’ to ‘restart’ this series, it’s truly ‘Fantastic.’”
Kojima’s endorsement arrives at a time when the film is experiencing a significant drop at the domestic box office. Following a strong opening, Fantastic Four: First Steps is projected to earn around 42 million dollars in its second weekend, a steep 64 percent decline. Friday’s earnings were estimated at 11.7 million dollars, a figure that reflects a heavily front-loaded performance. Despite retaining the number one position at the box office, its current trajectory suggests it may struggle to reach the 300 million dollar domestic benchmark.
Even so, the film has already crossed the 200 million dollar mark within ten days, outperforming Captain America: Brave New World to become the top-grossing MCU film of the year so far. However, when compared to previous Marvel releases such as Spider-Man: Far From Home or Thor: Love and Thunder, the second-weekend drop is considerably more pronounced.
Directed by Matt Shakman, Fantastic Four: First Steps takes place in an alternate 1960s timeline and introduces a new iteration of Marvel’s first family. The film stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Julia Garner, with Ralph Ineson portraying Galactus. Its fresh, creative vision, stylized setting, and bold tonal shift have been praised by both fans and critics. It currently holds an A- CinemaScore, the highest rating for any Fantastic Four film to date.
