Ant-Man is ready for his picnic at the box office. Disney and Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania grossed a whopping $17.5 million in previews at the domestic box office.
Internationally, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has opened in more than 40 international markets and grossed an estimated $23.8 million in its first two days of release. The superhero sequel is currently set in such important territories as Mexico, South Korea, Germany, Brazil and Australia. It debuts in China on Friday.
Paul Rudd’s latest Marvel adventure is expected to gross $95 million to $100 million domestically by its opening weekend. With Presidents Day on Monday, that number could grow to $110 million. That haul can’t compete with previous Marvel openings like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($185 million) and Thor: Love and Thunder ($144 million), but it does with the Ant-Man ‘ films, as its name suggests, has drawn smaller box office receipts than its Avengers teammates.
However, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will surely have the biggest opening of the small but mighty franchise. The original “Ant-Man” in 2015 debuted domestically at just $57 million after earning $6.4 million in previews Thursday. The 2018 sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp had an opening of $76 million after launching with $11.5 million in previews.
In terms of other current comic and event films, “The Batman” grossed $22 million in previews en route to a $134 million opening, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” grossed $28 million, before recording a $181 million debut, and Avatar: The Way of Water grossed $17 million in previews before launching at $134 million.
Word of mouth is probably the biggest problem for the film. Critics weren’t kind to “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” giving it a “rotten” rating of 49% on Rotten Tomatoes, a low mark for Marvel. But there are other draws that might make the sequel immune to reviews and dodgy buzz.
One of the biggest draws of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is Jonathan Majors’ super villain, Kang the Conqueror. He’s promised to be the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next Thanos antagonist, and he’s already been teased in the Season 1 finale of “Loki” on Disney+. Kang is an all-powerful, time-traveling villain who has slain countless Avengers throughout the multiverse’s infinite timelines. He’s a huge threat for a guy who can talk to ants, but luckily Rudd has some help up his super sleeves since he got lost in the mystical quantum realm. Evangeline Lilly returns as Wasp, Michael Douglas is back as Hank Pym, Michelle Pfeiffer is Janet van Dyne, and Kathryn Newton makes her adult debut as Cassie Lang in the sequel. Peyton Reed, who directed the previous two Ant-Man films, is directing this trilogy Capper.