Marvel Phase 5’s opener, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, has been under fire due to its initial box office forecast being predicted to have a ‘weaker opening’ than Thor: Love and Thunder. However, the Ant-Man threequel was also in line to surpass its predecessors in the franchise, which is exactly what happened on Ant-Man 3’s opening weekend!
According to Deadline, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania earned $118 million on its four-day domestic start ($104M on its three-day), which is significantly higher than Ant-Man’s $57 million along with Ant-Man and the Wasp’s $76 million on their opening debuts prior to the pandemic.
As was forecasted, Ant-Man 3 also earned less than Thor: Love and Thunder’s $144 million and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s $181 million on their opening weekends.
While the last of the trilogy franchise continues to receive mixed reviews from fans and critics, the divisive reception could be a lesson for Marvel Studios, especially now that they’re reevaluating future Marvel Phases plans by gradually decreasing their release of content.
READ MORE: Ant-Man 3 Potential Disney+ Release Date Reportedly Revealed
Marvel Studios promised to produce fewer MCU shows in the future, which was pretty much their response to the moviegoers’ evident “superhero fatigue”. Seeing as Kevin Feige did admit that they have planned three phases in advance (Marvel Phases 5-7), it is safe to say that they’re looking into what could bring the MCU back on the map.
Given that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is supposedly bringing in the introduction to Kang the Conqueror’s MCU debut, with the promise of an ‘Avengers-level’ for the film, the divisive reception seemingly takes the thrill out of it, which is unfortunate for Ant-Man director Peyton Reed and writer Jeff Loveness, who have been advocating for Ant-Man to no longer be a “side” character among the Avengers.
Still, it is worth noting that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has just been released, which gives the threequel plenty of time to accumulate more earnings for its box office record over time.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is now showing in theaters worldwide.
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