The final fate of Fox's new "Fantastic Four" is worse than most people expected. Many Hollywood trades are reporting a second-place finish for the Josh Trank action movie, behind a strong performing second week for "Mission Impossible Rogue Nation."

The Hollywood Reporter has the initial estimate for "Fantastic Four's" weekend take at $26.2 million -- well behind the initial $40 million predictions and even behind the adjusted $30 million figure thrown around once a batch of strongly negative reviews hit. That places the film's opening in a bracket with some of the lowest performing superhero movies of the modern age including "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" ($22.1 million) and "The Green Hornet" ($33.5 million). Perhaps more notable, it places the film far behind the previous screen iterations of the FF which came in at $56.1 million and $58.1 million almost ten years ago.

What these numbers mean for the future of the franchise is unclear. Fox had already placed a sequel for "Fantastic Four" on the schedule for 2017, though that plan is now in doubt. Perhaps the studio will instead move forward with a plan to merge the characters with the more popular X-Men universe as director Bryan Singer has hinted at.

Stay tuned for an update on the final official numbers for "Fantastic Four."