Ant-Man And The Wasp: QuantumaniaPhoto: Jay Maidment/Marvel
Today, there’s improbably little news: Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania is on track to become the second-weekend-biggest box office in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That’s according to Variety, which is reporting that Paul Rudd and Peyton Reed’s third Pym and Lang family adventure is on track to make about $30 million this weekend, down 72 percent from when it opened of $106 million last week. That’ll probably still be enough to win the weekend – sorry, Cocaine Bear, you tried – but it’s still a massive drop for a movie universe that usually manages significantly more staying power than this one.
(Variety goes on to note that even outside the MCU confines, it’s a pretty massive drop; the only other movie that ever appeared to open over $100 million in one weekend and then plummet more than 70 percent the next was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.)
Quantumania comes to this point after being treated fairly roughly by critics; Though viewership remains strong, it is only the second MCU film to garner a “rotten” score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. (At least its percentage hovers a notch above 2021’s Eternals.) Many critics have cited the film’s crowded nature for its problems, pointing out the oddity of Marvel’s most enduring comedic hero sharing the stage with the introduction of one of the biggest villains to date MCU to be presented in years, Jonathan Majors’ Kang. Not to mention the issues some viewers have had with the film’s visuals, which have been pushed to the limit by Hollywood VFX houses of late.
So the real question is what Weekend 3 of the film’s lifespan will be like – whether it’ll settle into a steady rhythm over the next few weeks, or move further into the mysterious alternate universe that shrinking scientists dub “itsy-bitsy town.” So can Reed and Rudd can at least be content with the knowledge that they’ve already surpassed 2008’s worst MCU film, The Incredible Hulk, which grossed a meager $134 million across its entire box office run.