Though prior box office estimates were fairly positive about "Fantastic Four's" prospects despite overwhelmingly negative reviews, the latest numbers paint a less sunny picture. Variety reports that tracking now projects the film as "struggling to hit $30 million for the weekend," which, as the outlet points out, would make it the first major superhero film to debut under $35 million since 2011's "Green Hornet" (which had a $33.5 million opening weekend). Previously, the film was projected to open in the mid-$40 million range.

An opening around $30 million could potentially put the film in the No. 2 slot for the weekend, behind "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation," which opened last week and is projected for $27 million in its second weekend. Variety reports a $120 million production budget for "Fantastic Four."

The film has experienced bad buzz since early in production, and this week, director Josh Trank wrote a quickly deleted tweet distancing himself from the version of the film that's been released. "Fantastic Four" has a 9 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes -- putting it below critically unfavored summer films including "Entourage," "Terminator Genisys" and "Pixels" -- and a 27 score ("Generally unfavorable reviews") on Metacritic.

"Fantastic Four" is in theaters now.