‘Ant-Man’ is still a Marvel at the box office
Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have gotten off to a rocky start, but Ant-Man is bigger than ever at the box office.
“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” (photo) opened with $104 million in domestic ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday, easily surpassing the box-office debuts of the previous two Ant-Man films. The Walt Disney Co.’s “Quantumania” added another $121.3 million overseas to give the pint-size hero a $225 million global launch.
It’s easily the largest opening of the year so far. And “Quantumania” did so despite an atypically poor reception for the 31st MCU film. “Quantumania,” starring Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp and Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, sits at 48% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the only MCU film to rank as rotten beside “The Eternals” (47%).
Audiences also weren’t thrilled with “Quantumania,” giving it a “B” CinemaScore. “The Eternals” is the only other MCU film to receive a CinemaScore that low.
Those scores will pose the biggest concern for Marvel as it continues to unroll Phase 5 of the MCU, following mixed reviews for the post-“Avengers: Endgame” Phase 4 of the comic-book franchise. Up next is “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” in May.
But bad reviews or not, theaters hope “Quantumania” — the first blockbuster of the year — is a sign of things to come. After the turmoil of the past three years, there are some 30 more wide releases planned for 2023.
The first “Ant-Man” launched with $57.2 million domestically in 2015, the smallest opening for any movie in the MCU. It ultimately earned $519.3 million worldwide. Its sequel, “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” debuted three years later with $75.8 million and went to collect $622.7 million globally.
China was vital for both of those releases, with each topping $100 million there. But in recent years, particularly during the pandemic, fewer U.S. movies have secured major releases in the heavily regulated Chinese market. Not since “Avengers: Endgame” in 2019 has a Disney release opened simultaneously in the U.S. and China.
Whether China will ever go back to those prepandemic numbers for U.S. movies, however, remains to be seen — especially as tensions continue to fester between the two countries. “Quantumania” took in $19 million over the weekend in China.
In its 10th weekend of release, James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” remained in second place with $6.4 million. With $2.24 billion globally, Cameron’s sci-fi sequel has now just surpassed “Titanic” — currently back in theaters for its 25th anniversary — as the third-highest grossing film ever. Now, only the 2009 “Avatar” and “Avengers: Endgame” rank above “The Way of Water.”
Landing in third was last week’s top film, “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” with $5.5 million. The Channing Tatum sequel has collected $18.1 million in two weeks.
In fourth was Universal’s “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” which has enjoyed an unusually long run in theaters as the top family option since late December. With $5.3 over the weekend, it has totaled $167 million domestically and more than $400 million worldwide.
Only one new film went into wide release against “Quantumania.” Open Road and Briarcliff Entertainment premiered “Marlowe,” with Liam Neeson playing Raymond Chandler’s classic private eye, in 2,281 locations. “Marlowe,” though, only mustered $1.9 million.