Ant-Man Opens Big at $104 Million Box Office for Quantumania

NEW YORK. The fifth phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe may not have gotten off to a great start, but Ant-Man is doing more than ever at the box office.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania opened with $104 million in domestic ticket sales, the studio estimated on Sunday, easily outperforming the two previous Ant-Man films at the box office. added another $121.3 million overseas to give the pint-sized hero a $225 million global launch.

So far, this is the biggest opening of the year. And Quantum Mania did just that, despite an atypically poor reception for the 31st MCU movie. Starring Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp, and Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, Quantum Mania sits at 48% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the only MCU movie to be considered rotten since The Eternals. 47%).

Audiences were also unimpressed with Quantumania, giving it a “B” CinemaScore. The Eternals is the only other MCU film to receive such a low CinemaScore rating.

These scores will pose the biggest challenge for Marvel as it continues to roll out the MCU’s fifth phase following mixed reviews for the post-Avengers: Eternals phase four of the comic book franchise. Next up is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3″ in May.

Good reviews or not, theaters are hoping Quantum Mania – the year’s first blockbuster – is a sign of things to come. After the turmoil of the last three years, there are about 30 more major releases planned for 2023.

“In the coming weeks, this is going to feel almost like a pre-pandemic movie environment from a market perspective,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at data firm Comscore. “This is very good news after a very tumultuous last two or three years. . This is the start of a big month for this industry. We were kind of in a waiting room with leftovers like Avatar and others.”

The first Ant-Man launched with $57.2 million domestically in 2015, the smallest opening for any film 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 grossed $622.7 million worldwide.

China was vital to both of these releases, each exceeding $100 million. But in recent years, especially during the pandemic, fewer American films have made it to the heavily regulated Chinese market. Since Avengers: Endgame in 2019, a Disney release hasn’t opened simultaneously in the US and China.

However, it remains to be seen if China will ever return to pre-pandemic numbers for US films, especially with ongoing tensions over China’s balloon surveillance program. “Quantomania” grossed $19 million over the weekend in China.

In its 10th weekend of release, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of the Water remained in second place with $6.4 million. Cameron’s sci-fi sequel, grossing $2.243 billion worldwide, just surpassed Titanic, which is currently returning to theaters on its 25th anniversary, to become the third highest-grossing film of all time. Now only Avatar and 2009’s Avengers: Endgame are ranked higher than Waterway.

Third place went to Universal’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which has been in theaters for an unusually long time since the end of December as the best family option. From $5.3 over the weekend, it made $167 million domestically and over $400 million worldwide.

Last week’s top film, Magic Mike’s Last Dance, dropped to fourth place with $5.5 million. Channing Tatum’s sequel grossed $18.1 million in two weeks.

Only one new film went into wide release against Quantumania. Open Road and Briarcliff Entertainment debuted Marlow with Liam Neeson playing classic private eye Raymond Chandler at 2281. However, Marlow only grossed $1.9 million.

Estimated Friday-Sunday ticket sales in US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore, Wednesday-Sunday in brackets. Final internal data will be published on Monday.

1. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania, $104 million

2. Avatar: The Way of Water, $6.1 million

3. Super Mike’s Last Dance, $5.5 million

4. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, $5.3 million

5. Knock on the Shack, $3.9 million

6. 80 for Brady, $3.6 million

7. Titanic, $2.3 million

8. Marlow, $1.9 million

9. “Missing,” $1.7 million

10. A Man Called Otto, $1.6 million