Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Box Office Breaks Franchise Record, Hits $120 Million Over 4 Days
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania had an even bigger box office opening than first reported. The third Ant-Man movie from Marvel Studios had the biggest opening for the trilogy, earning $105 million in its first three days, including $46 million on its opening day. That is up more than 30% from its predecessor, 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp. Over the four-day President's Day holiday weekend, the film's total could will climb to $120 million, with some projections suggesting that the total could rise even higher. Early box office projections suggested the film would benefit from the buzz around the debut of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Multiverse Saga villain, Kang the Conqueror, played by Jonathan Majors, and that seems to have proven true.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is succeeding at the box office despite being the second Marvel Studios movie to earn a rotten score on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics' consensus reads, "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania mostly lacks the spark of fun that elevated earlier adventures, but Jonathan Majors' Kang is a thrilling villain poised to alter the course of the MCU." However, its audience score is almost twice as positive as its critical number, and ComicBook.com's Jenna Anderson awarded the film a 4-out-of-5 in her review. She writes:
"On paper, a lot of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania shouldn't and couldn't work — but just enough does work to make watching it a worthwhile experience. Even with the occasional narrative flaw and aesthetic misstep, the film unfolds in a matter that's not unlike feverishly reading through a forgotten Bronze Age comic book, eagerly experiencing whatever story crumbs or impossible visuals might be in store. With multiple standout performances, an abundantly clear love for the wacky corners of science fiction, and a conflict that is guaranteed to matter in the years to come, Quantumania becomes the weirdest and most wholehearted chapter in the MCU's essential storytelling."
Avatar: The Way of Water remains in second place in its 10th weekend, and the recently re-released Titanic is also in the top 10. Those films, combined with Quantumania, have propelled Disney past $1 billion at the worldwide box office in 2023 six weeks into the year.
Peyton Reed returned to direct Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The film stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Jonathan Majors, Kathryn Newton, David Dastmalchian, Katy O'Brian, William Jackson Harper, Bill Murray, Michelle Pfeiffer, Corey Stoll, and Michael Douglas, and is playing in theaters now.