“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” by Marvel Studios.
Disney
by Disney “Ant-Man and the Wasp in Quantumania” grossed $17.5 million in Thursday night previews on its way to $100 million in its opening weekend.
The latest film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the first entry into the franchise’s phase five, the mid-phase of the Multiverse.
Quantumania’s fifth issue caught up with 2017’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” which went on to gross $147 million in its opening run. Before that, 2015’s Ant-Man made $6 million on Thursday before making $57 million in three days. 2018’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp” made $12 million when it debuted on Thursday and $76 million on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Thursday’s previews are included in the opening weekend total.
“‘Quantumania’ is on track to become the best February box office opening in five years,” said Shawn Robbins, principal analyst at BoxOffice.com.
The hype surrounding the big screen debut of Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) is likely to help boost moviegoers this weekend. Kang is the MCU’s next big villain, as was revealed during his debut in the Disney+ series “Loki” last year.
Additionally, Robbins noted that audiences are being drawn to more expensive high-end theater experiences for hits like “Quantumania,” and that will likely lead to increased ticket sales.
Weak reviews of the film likely won’t deter audiences from watching the movie. As of Friday afternoon, the film has a rating of 47% on Rotten Tomatoes from verified critics, but 84% from audiences. “Quantumania” is one of only two MCU movies to generate a “rotten” rating on the review aggregator.
Disney also announced on Friday that it will postpone the release of “The Marvels,” a movie centered around Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau, to November 10. The film was previously set to release on July 28.
It’s not clear why the studio pushed the release, but it could be an attempt to intersperse content from the Marvel universe. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is scheduled for release on May 5. In addition, the company has several TV series that will air on Disney+ over the next 12 to 18 months.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal owns Rotten Tomatoes.
