As expected, Marvel’s 31st movie, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania delivered a number one finish on its first day of release at the domestic box office, although the film’s $46 million haul (including $17.5 million in Thursday previews) fell short of its more illustrious counterparts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is expected to hit $100 million across its three-day debut, and $115 million across the four-day extended holiday weekend. Some projections suggest that the film could even top $125 million across four days.
The Ant-Man films, starring Paul Rudd as a thief-turned-Avenger, have typically opened lower than some of the bigger Marvel movies. By comparison, the first Ant-Man debuted to $56 million in 2015 on its way to a $519 million worldwide haul, while the second film, Ant-Man and the Wasp, made $76 million in its opening weekend in 2018, and finished with $622 million globally. While Ant-Man 3’s $46 million opening day haul is an improvement over its predecessors, it’s still way short of the high benchmark that Marvel has set for itself. Each of the studio’s 2022 releases made more in their opening weekends than the $100 million that Ant-Man 3 is projected to gross. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness delivered a $185 million debut, Thor: Love and Thunder made $144 million in its opening weekend, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever grossed $181 million in its first three days of release.
Ant-Man 3 also holds the unenviable distinction of being one of the worst-reviewed films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Critics have complained about its unnecessary focus on world-building at the cost of telling a self-contained story. Collider’s own Ross Bonaime wrote in his review, “Quantumania is a promising, but shaky start for Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's just a shame it comes at the sake of the little guy.”
Last week’s number one film, Magic Mike’s Last Dance slipped to number two and added $1.6 million to its domestic tally, which now stands at just under $15 million. The third installment in the hit Magic Mike franchise is pacing well behind both previous entries, which rode incredible pre-release buzz and more positive reviews on their way to $167 million and $122 million global lifetime hauls, respectively. Warner Bros. had initially planned a direct-to-HBO Max release for the film, but decided to give a targeted release in 1,500 domestic theaters after positive test screenings. That being said, Magic Mike 3 has drawn the worst reviews of the franchise, and was produced on a (significantly) bigger budget than both previous movies.
Holdover mega-hit Avatar: The Way of Water took the third spot with $1.3 million on its 10th Friday, taking its running domestic total to $652 million. Globally, director James Cameron’s long-awaited science-fiction sequel is still at the fourth spot, behind Cameron’s own Titanic. The 1997 blockbuster increased its lead over The Way of Water thanks to a recent re-release, but will inevitably be overtaken.
Puss and Boots: The Last Wish claimed the fourth spot and made $1.2 million on its ninth Friday, taking its running domestic total to a phenomenal $162 million. Globally, the film passed the $400 million mark last week. By comparison, the first Puss in Boots movie — itself a spinoff to the Shrek series — ended its global run with $555 million. M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller, Knock at the Cabin, rounded out the top five and added $1 million on its third Friday, pushing its running domestic total to over $27 million. Globally, the film currently stands at a little over $40 million, which is on the lower end of Shyamalan’s more recent output. Knock at the Cabin also happens to be his final film for Universal; the filmmaker recently signed a first-look deal with Warner Bros.
Overall business this weekend stood at $172 million, which is actually 13% higher than the same President’s Day weekend in pre-pandemic 2019, and 55% ahead of the same period last year. You can watch our interview with Ant-Man 3 director Peyton Reed here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.