Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania may have met a rough reviews reception, but its opening day box office total was a throwback to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's better days.
The film's domestic debut tally has performed well with $46 million, which includes its $17.5 million Thursday night preview (which surpassed Avatar: The Way of Water) and Friday totals. While it's hardly a record-breaking output, especially for an MCU entry, Quantumania's opening day does post a February number that the Disney-delivered franchise hasn't seen since the pandemic brought the entire entertainment industry to a nigh-irrecoverable screeching halt. While there have only been a few Marvel movies analogously released in February with which to compare it, Quantumania's number auspiciously resides among pre-pandemic levels. It may be well behind the Feb. 16, 2018 debut of Black Panther, which earned $75.9 million, but it came extremely close to matching the Feb. 12, 2016 debut of Deadpool, which earned $47.3 million. Thus, Disney has some encouraging results.
Quantumania's Opening Weekend
Quantumania has been facing an array of anemic reviews from critics, which seemed to portend a poor performance for the film. Even now, it sits at 48% on Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer. However, in addition to a strong debut, the Ant-Man threequel's prospects continue to glisten as its opening weekend progresses. The film is projected to reach $100 million for its first three days and enjoys the advantage of being punctuated by Presidents' Day, which analysts predict could help the film pull in anywhere from $125-134 million for the extended holiday weekend.
Another encouraging statistic, as provided by Deadline, shows that 62% of the audience bought tickets either the day-of or day before the showings, which suggests fortuitous unpredictability as more moviegoers become impromptu attendees. Indeed, by the same token, the apparent phenomenon of enthusiastic audiences seems to be reflected in Rotten Tomatoes' audience score, which, at the time of writing, stands in stark contrast to the critics' assessment, remaining solid at 84%. Since that score represents a sampling that exponentially outnumbers the critics, it appears that audiences -- many of whom appear to be buying tickets on a whim -- have formulated opinions about the film unsullied by the widespread scathing castigation of critics.
Additionally, Quantumania's expected $100 million 3-day opening will easily best its predecessors, with 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp having earned $76 million ($12 million previews) and 2015's Ant-Man with $57 million ($6 million previews). Those films went on to earn $622.7 million and $519.3 million worldwide, respectively, which bodes well for the long-term prospects of the MCU franchise's third entry.
Quantumania's Dynastic Tease
The film, which sees co-stars Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly back in the titular roles as Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Hope Van Dyne/The Wasp, is proving to be a bellwether entry for the MCU's future since it introduces the villain Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors). That character's face may seem familiar to fans who watched the 2021 Season 1 finale of the Disney+ series Loki since Majors appeared as "He Who Remains," the man behind the proverbial curtain of the Time Variance Authority. Yet, the film's particular other-universe variant of the same individual is an imperious despot who rules the subatomic Quantum Realm, and he's set his sights on Scott -- namely his Ant-Man technology. Moreover, as Quantumania's post-credits scene clarifies, the villain is set to achieve Thanos-like big bad status when he returns for the 2025-scheduled megamovie Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is playing in theaters now.
Source: Deadline