Delivering one of the best President’s Day weekends ever, Marvel’sAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniais looking at a four-day debut in the $118 million range. The third solo Ant-Man film and the 31st overall in the long-running Marvel Cinematic Universe grossed $100 million-plus across the traditional three-day weekend, after a $46 million Friday.
This isn’t just the biggest opening for an Ant-Man film — the first movie made $57 million in its opening weekend in 2015 while the second film made $76 million in its debut weekend three years later — but also the third-biggest weekend for the month of February.Ant-Man 3is trailing fellow superhero blockbustersBlack Panther($242 million across four days) andDeadpool($152 million across four days).
Globally, the film is eyeing a $225 million opening weekend, which is slightly under projections. The Ant-Man movies have typically performed lower than their more prominent MCU counterparts, owing to their self-contained (and usually low-stakes) stories and less-popular source material. The firstAnt-Manended its global run with $519 million, while the second film,Ant-Man and the Wasp, finished with $622 million worldwide.Ant-Man 3has deliberately been designed as a bigger experience, although this might have backfired on Marvel; the film has drawn some of the worstreviewsin the franchise’s nearly 15-year history.Ant-Man 3also has the additional responsibility of ushering in Phase Five of the series, after Phase Four left die-hard fans somewhat dissatisfied.
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Now in its 10th weekend, directorJames Cameron’sAvatar: The Way of Watertook the number two spot with an estimated $7.8 million across four days, taking its running domestic total to $658 million.The Way of Waterhas dominated the box office ever since its debut in December, making the best of little competition and genuine audience interest, on its way to a staggering $2.2 billion worldwide. It will soon overtake Cameron’s 1997 blockbusterTitanicfor the third spot on the all-time list.
Universal’sPuss in Boots: The Last Wishwas released just a week afterThe Way of Water, and has held almost as well across the last couple of months, albeit on a smaller level. The animated sequel is expected to gross nearly $7 million across the extended weekend, taking its running domestic total to $167 million. Globally, the film has made over $420 million, but it still trails the first film’s $555 million worldwide haul by a large margin.
The fourth spot went to last week’s number-one film,Magic Mike’s Last Dance, which is expected to make $5.75 million across the extended weekend for a running domestic total of a ho-hum $18 million. Both previous Magic Mike movies were bonafide box office hits, and there’s zero chance ofMagic Mike 3hitting their numbers ($167 million and $122 million worldwide, respectively), despite its significantly higher budget. The film was originally destined for a direct-to-HBO Max release, which was scuttled in favor of a targeted theatrical debut in 1,500 theaters. The top five was rounded out byM. Night Shyamalan’sKnock at the Cabin, which is eyeing a $4.4 million four-day finish, for a running domestic total of an underwhelming $30 million.
In some happy news, the 2023 box office will pass the $1 billion mark this week. This year is pacing ahead of the same period in 2022 by over 50%, signaling a return to form after the pandemic. you may watch our interview withAnt-Man 3directorPeyton Reedhere, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
