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After Phase 4’s strong ending with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Phase 5 of the MCU has had a mediocre opening with Ant-Man 3. The reception of Quantumania has not been favorable to critics as it has scored the second-lowest Rotten Tomatoes score. However, even the fans were disappointed with the film as it has recently tied with Eternals to get a “B” from CinemaScore.
Although Ant-Man 3 had a strong box office opening, it failed to create a strong impact on the audience. Moreover, there’s a chance that Quantumania could end up with box office numbers that are even lower than the first Ant-Man movie.
The recent decrease in the hype of Ant-Man 3 could potentially affect its box office earnings
The latest threequel featuring Scott Lang opened with the best franchise opening of $106 million in North America and $227 million worldwide (as per Box Office Mojo). Compared to this, Ant-Man made $57 million domestically on its opening weekend, while Ant-Man and the Wasp brought in $75 million. As such, even with this opening, Quantumania’s worldwide total might end up being the worst out of the three movies in the franchise.
Earlier, Thor: Love and Thunder opened with $144 million, but it dropped by 67% to make just $46 million in its second weekend. So, even if Quantumania makes somewhere in the $40 million on its second weekend, the drop would still be over 50%.
Looking at MCU’s second-lowest “First Thursday” numbers ($3.7 million domestically) from Quantumania, it does seem that the hype has recently died. Hence, the film might make even less than $40 million in its second weekend.
Ant-Man 3 currently stands at $135 million domestically and $264 million worldwide. There is only one week left where the film faces no major competition at the theaters. Moreover, the predictions for the movie for this weekend are pretty low.
It has opened in all major markets around the world, including China. However, this time, even China isn’t proving to be the savior of the Ant-Man movie because it opened with $19 million in the Chinese market. The first Ant-Man movie made $106 million from China, and it seems like Quantumania won’t get close to that number.
Thanks to China, Ant-Man’s worldwide total earnings ended up at $519 million, while Ant-Man and the Wasp made $622 million worldwide. But Ant-Man 3 might only get close to the first movie. The film may get close to $350 million worldwide after its second weekend. However, with the upcoming competition and people’s preference for streaming, things don’t look good for the film. It may not even reach the $500 million mark.
Streaming problems and the incoming competition that Quantumania might face
Post-COVID, people have developed a habit of streaming. Similar to Quantumania, Eternals was a low-rated movie that made only $402 million due to its lack of popularity. However, since the film became the most-watched superhero movie on Disney+ in 2022, it’s possible that many fans are waiting to see Quantumania directly on Disney+.
On top of streaming, Ant-Man 3 is about to lose its premium screens as there are at least six potential blockbuster movies releasing in March. The studios are set to put out films like Scream 6, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, John Wick Chapter 4, Dungeons & Dragons, and 65, which will pull in many potential viewers of Quantumania.
Hence, not only is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania the lowest-rated Ant-Man movie among fans and critics, but it will also be the weakest at the box office. Early predictions for the movie stated a total intake of $700 million worldwide, but Quantumania might struggle to get to $500 million.
