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Disney’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania grossed $110 million at the domestic box office, beating expectations and making for the biggest opening weekend of the minor Marvel trilogy by far.
The superhero adventure, starring Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly as Ant-Man and the Wasp, is expected to gross $118 million or $120 million from 4,345 North American theaters by President’s Day on Monday. It is the first domestic debut to gross $100 million in 2023. The film added $121 million at the international box office and brought its global tally to $225 million.
“‘Ant-Man’ is the first new Hollywood blockbuster coming in 2023,” says Rich Gelfond, CEO of Imax, noting that $24 million came from the company’s premium screens.
Despite the threequel garnering some of the series’ worst reviews (and some of the harshest in the entire MCU), Quantumania stood up to its predecessors, 2015’s $57 million Ant-Man and its sequel Ant-Man ‘ from 2018, a huge leap forward. Man and the Wasp” at launch with $76 million. Critical sentiment rarely plays a role on Marvel movie opening weekends, but word of mouth could impact ticket sales in the coming weeks. In addition to its dismal 49% Rotten Tomatoes average, viewers gave the film a “B” CinemaScore.
“‘Ant-Man’ isn’t among the top Marvel series, and reviews and audience ratings are unusually poor, but it’s an excellent deal and a big step up for the title,” said David A. Gross, who is the film consultant heads Franchise Entertainment Research.
Despite the four-day total vacation, the comic book tale centered around Rudd’s sub-atomic heroes is unlikely to rival his towering Marvel counterparts, which traditionally power the mightiest of the mighty opening weekends. Previous installments in the sprawling series include Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($185 million at launch), Thor: Love and Thunder ($144 million) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (181 million), started out stronger and eventually earned more than $750-$950 million worldwide. The previous two Ant-Man films, which could serve as better points of comparison for Quantumania, grossed $519 million and $622 million, respectively, worldwide. The Littlest Avenger may be small, but the third chapter still looks mighty. Based on opening weekend earnings, the latest “Ant-Man” entry is expected to finish its box office run with the highest grossing of the trilogy.
That’s a good sign, because the latest Ant-Man adventure has the high responsibility of ushering in the fifth phase of the MCU. Next up is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 on May 5th, followed by the recently postponed The Marvels on November 10th. Peyton Reed directed Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the 31st installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film, which introduces Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, heir apparent to the villainous Thanos, also stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Douglass and Kathryn Newton as Ant-Man and company, who are transported to the mysterious Quantum Realm – one that defies the laws by defying space and time – to save the planet from the forces of evil.
“Ant-Man 3” topped the box office via another otherworldly adventure. James Cameron’s enduring blockbuster Avatar: The Way of Water stayed in second place in its 10th weekend of release, adding $6.4 million over the weekend and an estimated $8 million through Monday from 2,675 theaters. To date, the sci-fi sequel has grossed $658 million in North America, surpassing 2015’s Jurassic World as the ninth-biggest film in domestic box office history. Notably, The Way of Water has surpassed $2.2433 billion worldwide, enough to overtake Titanic ($2.2428 billion) as the third highest-grossing film of all time.
At #3, Universal’s animated sequel, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish also remained surprisingly strong, grossing $5.3 million over the weekend and an estimated $7.1 million through Monday from 3,012 locations. The film, set in the “Shrek” universe, hit theaters in December and has grossed $167 million in North America and a whopping $400 million worldwide.
Last weekend’s champion, Magic Mike’s Last Dance, dropped to fourth place, grossing $5.5 million over the weekend and an estimated $6 million through Monday in 3,034 theaters. After two weeks of release, the third Magic Mike, led by Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek, has grossed $18.1 million. The Warner Bros. release, which was created for HBO Max but later released theatrically exclusively, cost nearly $50 million to produce.
Universal’s “Knock at the Cabin” rounded out the top five with $3.9 million over the weekend and $4.49 million through Monday from 2,601 theaters. M. Night Shyamalan’s latest psychological thriller has grossed $30.9 million to date.
Only one film, Liam Neeson’s crime thriller Marlowe, has been bold enough to take on Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania. Open Road and Briarcliff Entertainment’s film barely cracked the top 10, finishing in ninth place with a dismal $1.9 million over the weekend and $3 million through Monday from 2,281 locations.
Neeson’s latest action movies haven’t been huge box office hits, but the poorly-reviewed “Marlowe,” in which he plays a detective hired to find the ex-lover of a glamorous heiress, marks the actor’s worst start in a long time. Ticket sales were below those of 2022’s “Memory” ($3.1 million debut) and “Blacklight” ($3.5 million), as well as pandemic-era releases like “The Marksman” ($3.1 million). million dollars) in 2021 and “Honest Thief” in 2020 ($4.1 million).
There’s more to come…