Ant-Man Sequel Opens Large

Poorly reviewed Disney film outperforms predecessors
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 19, 2023 12:55 PM CST
Ant-Man Sequel Opens Large
This image released by Disney shows Paul Rudd, left, and Jonathan Majors in a scene from "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania."   (Disney/Marvel Studios via AP)

Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have gotten off to a rocky start, but Ant-Man is bigger than ever at the box office. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania opened with $104 million in domestic ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday, easily surpassing the box office debuts of the previous two Ant-Man films. The Walt Disney Co.'s Quantumania added another $121.3 million overseas to give the pint-size hero a $225 million global launch, the AP reports. It's easily the largest opening of the year so far. And Quantumania did so despite an atypically poor reception for the 31st MCU film.

Quantumania, starring Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp, and Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, sits at 48% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the only MCU film to rank as rotten beside The Eternals. Audiences also weren't thrilled with Quantumania, giving it a “B” CinemaScore. Only one new film went into wide release against it: Open Road and Briarcliff Entertainment debuted Marlowe, with Liam Neeson playing Raymond Chandler's classic private eye, in 2,281 locations. Marlowe, though, only mustered $1.9 million.

Below are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

  1. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, $104 million.
  2. Avatar: The Way of Water, $6.1 million.
  3. Magic Mike's Last Dance, $5.5 million.
  4. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, $5.3 million.
  5. Knock at the Cabin, $3.9 million.
  6. 80 for Brady, $3.6 million.
  7. Titanic, $2.3 million.
  8. Marlowe, $1.9 million.
  9. Missing, $1.7 million.
  10. A Man Called Otto, $1.6 million.

(More box office stories.)

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