Marvel’s offers one of the best President’s Day weekends ever Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania plans a four-day debut in the $118 million range. The third solo Ant-Man film and 31st overall in the long-running Marvel Cinematic Universe grossed over $100 million over its traditional three-day weekend after a $46 million Friday.
Not only is this the biggest premiere for an Ant-Man film — the first film grossed $57 million on its opening weekend in 2015, while the second film grossed $76 million on its debut weekend three years later — it’s also that third largest weekend for the month of February. ant man 3 lags behind other superhero blockbusters Black Panther ($242 million over four days) and Dead Pool ($152 million over four days).
Globally, the film is targeting an opening weekend of $225 million, slightly below projections. The Ant-Man films have typically underperformed their more well-known MCU counterparts due to their self-contained (and usually low-stakes) stories and less popular source material. The first ant man ended its worldwide run at $519 million, while the second film, Ant Man and the Waspended up making $622 million worldwide. ant man 3 was deliberately designed as a larger experience, although this may have backfired at Marvel; The film has received some of the worst reviews in the franchise’s nearly 15-year history. ant man 3 also has the added responsibility of kicking off phase five of the series after phase four left die-hard fans somewhat unsatisfied.
Now in his 10th weekend, director JamesCameron‘S Avatar: The Way of Water ranked second with an estimated $7.8 million over four days, bringing the domestic running total to $658 million. The way of the water has dominated the box office since its debut in December, making the best of little competition and real audience interest on its way to a staggering $2.2 billion worldwide. It will soon overtake Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster titanic for third place on the all-time list.
Universals Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was released just a week later The way of the water, and has held up almost as well over the last few months, albeit at a lower level. The animated sequel is expected to gross nearly $7 million over the long weekend, bringing the domestic running total to $167 million. The film has grossed over $420 million worldwide, but is still well short of the first film’s $555 million.
Fourth place went to last week’s number one film, Magic Mike’s Last Dance, which is expected to rake in $5.75 million over the long weekend, bringing the domestic running total to a staggering $18 million. Both of the previous Magic Mike movies were box office hits and there is no chance Magic Mike 3 reach their numbers ($167 million and $122 million worldwide respectively) despite its significantly higher budget. The film was originally slated for a direct release on HBO Max, which was scrapped in favor of a targeted theatrical debut in 1,500 theaters. The top 5 were rounded off by M. Night Shyamalan‘S Knock on the hutwhich is targeting a four-day finish of $4.4 million for a domestic running total of a staggering $30 million.
In some encouraging news, the 2023 box office will surpass the $1 billion mark this week. This year is over 50% ahead of the same period in 2022, signaling a return to post-pandemic form. You can watch our interview ant man 3 director Peyton Reed here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
