'Ant-Man and the Wasp' Has Huge $21.5 Million Opening Day in China

Nearly two months after its domestic release, Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp was released in North America, Peyton Reed's sequel is finally making its debut in China, where fans are already showing out in waves.

According to Variety, Ant-Man and the Wasp had a solid opening day in China, taking in $21.5 million at the box office. The movie completely steamrolled the competition on Friday, knocking out The Meg, along with a few new releases. Ant-Man and the Wasp accounted for a whopping 66 percent of China's box office share on Friday.

With Chinese audiences backing the movie, it's likely Ant-Man and the Wasp will be able to outperform its predecessor after all. The first Ant-Man movie, released in 2015, earned a total of $180 million in North America, and another $339 million internationally, bringing it's worldwide haul to $519 million.

To this point, Ant-Man and the Wasp hasn't quite reached the heights of the first movie. It passed Ant-Man domestically, taking in $209 million so far, but its $257 million international haul wasn't quit enough. However, due to staggered scheduling of the movie, China and Japan are just now getting to see the it. (Ant-Man and the Wasp opens in Japan on August 31.)

The Marvel sequel has earned a total of $466 million so far, with the numbers from China and Japan still to come. After the solid Friday start in China, it won't take much more to push Ant-Man and the Wasp ahead. In 2015, Ant-Man took in a total of $105 million in China, and just under $10 million in Japan.

By the looks of things, the Marvel machine isn't slowing down any time soon. Even as one of the studio's weaker releases, Ant-Man still managed to earn more than $500 million around the globe, while Avengers: Infinity War was able to top the $2 billion mark.

What did you think of Ant-Man and the Wasp? Will it top the total earnings of its predecessor? Let us know what you think in the comments!