`Ant-Man' debut is the year's biggest
NEW YORK >> Phase five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have gotten off to a rocky start, but AntMan is bigger than ever at the box office.
“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” opened with $104 million in domestic ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday, easily surpassing the box-office debuts of the previous two AntMan films.
The Walt Disney Co.'s “Quantumania” added another $121.3 million overseas to give the pint-sized 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. Those scores will pose the biggest concern for Marvel as it continues to unroll phase five of the MCU, following mixed reviews for the post- “Avengers: Eternals” phase four of the comic-book franchise. Up next is “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” in May.
But good 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 American movies have secured major releases in the heavily regulated Chinese market.
“Quantumania” took in $19 million over the weekend in China.