While “House of Wax” would make Vincent Price synonymous with the horror genre, it did not do the same for either Charles Bronson or Andre de Toth. For both men, it was the only horror film they ever made. (In Bronson’s case, this only holds true depending on how you categorize the 1983 thriller “10 to Midnight,” in which Bronson plays a cop on the trail of a skeevy serial killer.) By the time of “House of Wax,” de Toth had already made a name for himself as a director of edgy genre pictures, mostly westerns and film noir. Despite the success of “House of Wax,” the filmmaker never returned to the horror genre again.

Yet de Toth was clearly impressed with Bronson’s work as Igor in the film, enough that the two men worked together several times subsequently. De Toth cast Bronson in the film noir “Crime Wave” and the western “Riding Shotgun” (both 1954). The latter film helped establish Bronson in the western genre, a relationship that continued throughout the rest of his career with appearances in such classics as “The Magnificent Seven” and “Once Upon a Time in the West.” Bronson’s tough-guy stature also served him well in the burgeoning action film genre, taking him from crime pictures like “Machine Gun Kelly” to films like “The Mechanic” and, of course, the gritty vigilante “Death Wish” series.

Ironically, Bronson and de Toth nearly worked together a final time in a completely different genre: the superhero movie. Thanks to Bronson’s good relationship with director Richard Donner (appearing in two of Donner’s early features, “X-15” and “Lola”), Bronson became one of the actors to audition for the title role in 1978’s “Superman.” Of course, that part went to then-unknown Christopher Reeve, yet had Bronson won it instead, he would’ve worked again with de Toth, who had been hired to do some uncredited second unit directing on the film’s flying sequences. Though Bronson had appeared in various small roles in films and TV episodes prior to his performance as Vincent Price’s eerily stoic henchman, it’s clear that “House of Wax” was a turning point in his career, making him a charter member of the “actors who got their break thanks to horror” club.

Though it doesn’t always equate to ticket sales, a good reception never hurts a big blockbuster. To that end, “Fantastic Four: First Steps” was welcomed with open arms by both critics and audiences alike. The movie currently holds a very solid 87% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes to go with a great 93% audience rating. Not to turn this into a competition but, as of this writing, both of these numbers are just slightly above those for “Superman.” Shakman’s latest also earned an A- CinemaScore, which similarly matched “Superman.” This matters because DC’s new take on the Man of Steel has proven to be a crowd-pleaser with staying power.

In his review for /Film, Witney Seibold gave “First Steps” a 9 out of 10 rating, writing it “is set in a world that I wouldn’t mind living in.” Indeed, a lot of recent MCU releases earned a far more mixed response than this film did, if not a downright sour one in some cases. The house that Feige built is simply not as bulletproof as it was in the lead up to “Avengers: Endgame,” back when the enterprise seemed downright unstoppable. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case here, as Marvel appears to have gotten its mojo back. It couldn’t have come at a better time, either.

One thing that simply cannot be overlooked when we talk about the success of “First Steps” compared to other recent Marvel fare is the sheer recognizability of the team at the center of the film. We’ve had several “Fantastic Four” movies (of varying quality) over the years. They were one of the teams that helped make Marvel Comics what it was way back in the ’60s after being created by the legendary Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Even very casual audiences know, vaguely speaking, who these characters are. The same can’t be said for the namesakes of “Eternals” or “Thunderbolts*.”

By Feige’s own admission, a lack of character recognition helped doom “Thunderbolts*,” in particular, despite the fact the movie earned very strong reviews. The MCU needed to bring in a heavy-hitter. It got four of them in the forms of Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Thing, and The Human Torch. The Fantastic Four are a hugely important team within the Marvel Comics canon and, if things go well, “First Steps” may kick off a franchise that can help carry the MCU for the next decade. Put plainly, the studio needed this one to work. By all accounts in the early going, it did.

Another thing that greatly benefited “First Steps” was the fact that it promised something fresh for both hardcore comic book fans and casual moviegoers. The fact of the matter is that the post-“Endgame” era of the MCU, which has been defined by wildly expansive storytelling within the larger Marvel multiverse, has been somewhat unwelcoming to audiences. It’s made many of its movies — not to mention the shows on Disney+ — feel like required homework rather than things to be enjoyed as one pleases.

Again, Feige has admitted the MCU was focused on quantity over quality for a while there, and that hurt the brand. Fortunately, this movie wasn’t saddled with multiversal baggage and got to exist on its own terms. That was made very clear in the marketing and during the press tour. Beyond that, Shakman crafted a retro-futuristic look for the film that helped set this “Fantastic Four” film apart not only from the ones that have graced the big screen before but also other movies in the MCU. It looked different and, thankfully, did not require hours of previous viewing homework to appreciate.

Indeed, people can enjoy “First Steps” as a movie for its own sake, while hardcore fans are free to connect any dots that might lead to “Avengers: Doomsday.” It’s precisely the sort of thing that the MCU used to do so well with regularity.

In 2015, director Josh Trank’s “Fantastic Four” became one of the biggest bombs in superhero movie history. It was a disaster of epic proportions, and it certainly didn’t help that 2007’s “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” was also a failure before it. The larger point is that, even though Disney completed its purchase of Fox in 2019, giving Marvel Studios control of the “Fantastic Four” and “X-Men” properties, the House of Ideas exercised patience and avoided rushing a new movie with these characters into production right away. Instead, the studio allowed some time to pass, giving the wounds from those previous failures a chance to heal. Most importantly, it allowed a real appetite to build up.

Now, in the year 2025, fans have been absolutely dying to see this “Fantastic Four” reboot, complete with a far more comic book accurate version of the villain Galactus and an A-list cast bringing these heroes to life. To that end, Marvel Studios nailed it by lining up Pedro Pascal (“The Mandalorian”) as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby (“Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning”) as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn (“Stranger Things”) as Johnny Storm,” and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (“The Bear”) as Ben Grimm. A decade removed from Trank’s ill-fated flick, everyone was ready to love the Fantastic Four again.

Speaking of love, one of the biggest things “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” had going for it was the Marvel Studios logo itself. To be sure, for as much as the studio’s last handful of years has been defined by disappointments such as “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumanina” and “The Marvels,” it has also given way to absolutely gigantic hits such as “Deadpool & Wolverine” ($1.3 billion worldwide).

The fact of the matter is that audiences are still ready to fall in love with these movies and will spend their hard-earned money on a ticket if they think it seems worth it. Is it as easy as it once was for MCU films to make it to $1 billion globally? No, but that should never be the bar for success, even for Marvel Studios. The number of movies that can open to more than $200 million globally are few and far between in the pandemic era. Despite its numerous misfires, however, Marvel can still do that with the right film.

There’s a reason why millions of people watched and analyzed the hours-long “Avengers: Doomsday” casting announcement in March. There’s also a reason why its misfires haven’t derailed everything that Marvel puts out. Audiences just want to feel like what they’re going to see is truly worth their time, much in the way that “Guardians of the Galaxy” or “Captain America: Civil War” were in their day. In this case, Shakman, Feige, and everyone hit the mark. Audiences seem like they’re downright rooting for Marvel to hit the mark and vote happily with their dollars when it happens. Here’s hoping this can be the beginning of the end for the rough patch. 

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is in theaters now.