Ant-Man & The Wasp Exceeds Initial Box Office Projections, Tops Original

CBR

By Nicole Sobon

Published Jul 7, 2018

Ant-Man and the Wasp is projected to open to $83.7 million this weekend, which would put it well ahead of the original's $57 million opening back in 2015.

Marvel Studios' latest film, Ant-Man and the Wasp, has set the box office buzzing as the sequel looks to beat out its predecessor's opening weekend, while also exceeding expectations.

Per Variety, Marvel's twentieth film, Ant-Man and the Wasp, is set to top the box office this weekend with an estimated $83.7 million from 4,206 North American locations. That puts the film well ahead Ant-Man's debut of $57 million back in 2015. Disney's projections had the film opening around $70 million, and possibly reaching as high as $85 million, which is still entirely possible depending on Sunday's holdover.

Ant-Man and the Wasp proved to be a success early on when the film opened to $11.5 million from Thursday previews, which was ahead of fellow Marvel films Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy. Should the current estimates hold, Ant-Man and the Wasp's $83.7 million opening would make for the seventh-highest domestic debut of the year, behind fellow Disney property, Solo: A Star Wars Story, which opened to $84.4 million back in May.

When Ant-Man opened back in 2015, the film went on to earn $519 million at the worldwide box office, which included $180 million stateside. At the time, the film had plenty of things working against it, including plenty of behind-the-scenes drama just weeks before production officially kicked off. Still, the film went on to surprise and earned an impressive 82% on Rotten Tomatoes and marked a solid start for a new Marvel Studios franchise. With the sequel proving to be a success among both fans and critics alike, Ant-Man and the Wasp should easily go on to surpass Thor: The Dark World's $644.5 million haul at the global box office.

In theaters now, director Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and The Wasp stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Judy Greer, David Dastmalchian, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, Hannah John-Kamen, Randall Park, and Walton Goggins.