Ant-Man has a strong opening weekend with USD 104 million for "Quantumania"

Even though Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had a bumpy start, Ant-Man is doing better than ever financially.

According to studio projections from Sunday, "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" debuted with $104 million in American ticket sales, easily outpacing the box office debuts of the other two Ant-Man movies. "Quantumania" from The Walt Disney Co. made an additional $121.3 million worldwide, giving the diminutive hero a $225 million global debut.

It is without a doubt the biggest opening of the year to date. Yet "Quantumania" succeeded despite an uncharacteristically negative response for the 31st MCU movie. The movie "Quantumania," starring Jonathan Majors, Evangeline Lilly, and Paul Rudd as Ant-Man Being the only MCU movie to receive a terrible rating next to "Eternals" (47%), known as Kang the Conqueror, is ranked at 48% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Also receiving a "B" CinemaScore from viewers, "Quantumania" wasn't well received. Only one other MCU movie has a CinemaScore as low, and that movie is "Eternals."

These ratings, which came in the wake of the comic book franchise's post-"Avengers: Endgame" phase four's mixed reception, will be Marvel's biggest worry as it moves forward with the release of phase five of the MCU. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" will be released in May.

Yet regardless of the critiques, theatres are hoping that "Quantumania," the year's first big hit, is a portent of things to come. There are perhaps 30 more after the unrest of the previous three years

According to the marketplace, "it will feel almost like a pre-pandemic moviegoing situation in the following weeks," predicted Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for analytics company Comscore. "That's excellent news after the turbulent past two or three years. For this industry, this marks the beginning of several lengthy months. With holdovers like "Avatar" and others, we've essentially been in the waiting room."

The first "Ant-Man" had the lowest domestic opening of any MCU film in 2015 with $57.2 million. In the end, $519.3 million was made globally. Three years later, "Ant-Man and the Wasp" made its global debut with $75.8 million and went on to earn $622.7 million.

Each of those releases required China, there, with each exceeding $100 million. Nonetheless, fewer American films have gotten significant releases in the tightly controlled Chinese market in recent years, particularly during the pandemic. A Disney release hasn't had a simultaneous U.S. and Chinese release since "Avengers: Endgame" in 2019.

But, it is unclear whether China will ever return to those pre-pandemic numbers for American films, especially given the lingering sensitivities over the Chinese balloon spying programme. Over the weekend, "Quantumania" made $19 million in China.

James Cameron's "Avatar: The Way of Water" maintained its second-place position with $6.4 million in its tenth weekend of release. The sci-fi sequel just overtook Cameron's own "Titanic," which is currently playing in cinemas for the 25th time, with $2.243 billion worldwide as the third-highest grossing movie ever, anniversary Only "Avatar" from 2009 and "Avengers: Endgame" now score higher than "The Way of Water."

"Magic Mike's Last Dance," the top movie last week, fell to third place with $5.5 million. In just two weeks, the Channing Tatum follow-up has brought in $18.1 million.

Universal's "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish," which has had an exceptionally lengthy run in theatres as the top family choice since late December, came in fourth place. It earned $5.3 million during the weekend, bringing its domestic total to $167 million and global earnings to well than $400 million.

Only one new movie was widely released in opposition to "Quantumania." At 2,281 locations, Open Road and Briarcliff Entertainment launched "Marlowe," starring Liam Neeson as Raymond Chandler's iconic private eye. However "Marlowe" is the only mustered $1.9 million.

Comscore's projections for Friday through Sunday theatre attendance in the United States and Canada. On Monday, the final domestic data will be revealed.

1. "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," $104 million.

2. "Avatar: The Way of Water," $6.1 million.

3. "Magic Mike's Last Dance," $5.5 million.

4. "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish," $5.3 million.

5. "Knock at the Cabin," $3.9 million.

6. "80 for Brady," $3.6 million.

7. "Titanic," $2.3 million.

8. "Marlowe," $1.9 million.

9. "Missing," $1.7 million.

10. "A Man Called Otto," $1.6 million.