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Returning Paul Rudd’s subatomic superhero, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is expected to revive the sluggish winter box office when the latest Marvel adventure hits theaters this weekend.
Disney’s third standalone Ant-Man film is expected to gross between $95 million and $100 million over its traditional weekend in North America and $110 by President’s Day on Monday. As the only national re-release, it will easily take the number one spot on Magic Mike’s Last Dance.
Ant-Man 3 aims to gross at least $160 million at the international box office, although estimates range from $130 million to $190 million. China, where Quantumania is expected to gross between $35 million and $55 million, will be key to the weekend’s final tally. It’s one of the rare Hollywood films – and only the second Marvel tentpole since 2019 Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home – to play in Chinese theaters.
Based on domestic box office estimates, the latest Ant-Man is buzzing among recent Marvel titles like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($185 million), Thor: Love and Thunder ($144 million), dollars) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ($181 million). But the comic book adventures centered around Rudd’s little hero, also known by his alter ego Scott Lang, have traditionally earned less than his powerful Avenger counterparts. Happily, it trumps its predecessors 2015’s ‘Ant-Man’ ($57 million) and its 2018 sequel ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ ($76 million domestically and $161 million worldwide). huge leap forward. The first two films, which are better comparison points for Quantumania, grossed $519 million and $622 million, respectively, worldwide.
Peyton Reed directed Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the 31st installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It bears the heavy responsibility of ushering in the fifth phase of the MCU, which will feature Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Marvels, Captain America: New World Order, Thunderbolts, and Blade. But the film only somehow fulfills that responsibility, according to Rolling Stone film critic David Fear. “An ant can carry 10 to 15 times its own body weight, yet as the actual opening film tasked with building the next two-phase multi-film/TV arc, Quantumania is still crushed by retreating must be too much of a franchise burden,” he wrote in his review.
Fear isn’t the only reviewer who left Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania with mixed feelings; The film has an average of 60% on Rotten Tomatoes. But reviews rarely matter at Marvel, at least as far as opening weekend turnout goes. The long-running franchise’s interconnected universe – spanning the big and small screens – makes each adventure a must-read for comic book fans.
Evangeline Lilly, who portrays the Wasp, as well as Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Douglass return for Quantumania, while also starring Jonathan Majors as the villainous Kang the Conqueror, Kathryn Newton as Scott Lang’s daughter, and William Jackson Harper as Quaz. In the film, Ant-Man and his companions are transported to the mysterious Quantum Realm – which defies the laws of space and time – to save the planet from the forces of evil.
In Variety’s review, chief film critic Owen Gleiberman praised Majors, whose character is poised to become the next Thanos-level threat to the universe. “With no motion capture makeup to hide behind, Jonathan Majors grabs you with the silent power of his pensive scowl,” he wrote. “You cling to his every word; he makes revenge and genocide sound like the most hypnotically casual propositions.”
That bodes well for Marvel, as the time-travelling villain isn’t going anywhere — at least until Avengers: The Kang Dynasty hits theaters in 2025.