‘Ant-Man’ sequel buzzes to $76M
NEW YORK — Despite its heroes’ diminutive size, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” opened with typical Marvel might at the box office, with an estimated $76 million in ticket sales.
According to studio estimates yesterday, the “AntMan” sequel easily surpassed the $57 million debut of the 2015 original in North America. The 20th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — and the 20th to debut No. 1 at the box office — “Ant-Man and the Wasp” comes on the heels of two mammoth Marvel successes this year: “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Infinity War.”
While the first “Ant-Man,” starring Paul Rudd, had a rocky road to release due to a late director change, the rollout of the sequel, directed by Peyton Reed, was smoother. Cathleen Taff, head of distribution for Disney, credited a marketing campaign that played up the film as a more modest, funny and light-hearted change-ofpace for Marvel following the grandiosity of “Infinity War.”
“Ant-Man and the Wasp,” with a reported production budget of about $160 million, may have performed well enough to firmly establish its place among Marvel’s more mainline superheroes. Reviews were good (86 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences gave it an A-minus CinemaScore. Ticket sales overseas added another $85 million.
The weekend’s top five films were all sequels. The weekend’s other new wide release was Blumhouse Productions’ “The First Purge,” the fourth film in the lowbudget horror franchise about an annual 12-hour period of lawlessness.
“The First Purge” debuted with $32 million over the five-day frame, and $18.5 million for the weekend.
The films that trailed “Ant-Man” hit their own milestones. Disney’s “Incredibles 2” passed “Finding Dory” to become Pixar’s topgrossing film domestically, not accounting for inflation. It earned $29 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic total to $504 million and its worldwide haul to $773 million.
With $28.6 million in its third weekend, Universal’s “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” crossed $1 billion worldwide. It’s done especially well internationally, which has made up 69 percent of the dinosaur sequel’s global footprint.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through yesterday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through yesterday also are included. Final domestic figures will be released today.