The third film in the trilogy and Phase 5 MCU film introducing Kang could be the year’s first $100m + opening weekend.
Ant-Man has had tough acts to follow as the first movie ended the second phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Avengers: Age of Ultron, and not only introduced to the general public a little-known superhero but one with a seemingly cornier premise [which the movie itself addresses]. The Ant-Man films have been on the more modest end of the Marvel catalog when it came to box office success; however, Box Office Pro reports that this latest entry soon to hit screens, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, is tracking to have the biggest opening of the Ant-Man franchise.
Ant-Man’s stories have usually showcased fun side stories of the overall arc of the shared universe. However, for this entry, one notable aspect is the villain featured, Kang the Conqueror, is a known juggernaut of a villain in the comic book world and has been touted as the next Thanos for this new generation of Marvel characters. In addition, as Phase 4 explored the universe beyond our own world with multiverses, Quantumania is exploring the extreme microscopic world of the Quantum realm. The multiverse made possible the cameos and appearances of a lot of fan-servicing characters and plot devices, and the Quantum realm looks to explore even wilder possibilities.
Currently, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water is crossing $2 billion worldwide and is holding the top of the box office for six straight weeks, which is familiar territory for the sci-fi auteur. However, since its opening, there hasn’t been much in terms of competition for it as it was released in late December, and the beginning of the year, particularly January, is often a graveyard for movies that studios dump when they don’t have too much confidence in them. With a Marvel movie on the horizon though, that’s usually a guaranteed successful opening weekend.
As Disney+ also expands the universe with their television series, and a ho-hum reception to phase 4, it seems that there might also be some “superhero fatigue” setting in as it has now become imperative to know the stories of the shows to also follow some plot threads of the films. It all still remains to be seen.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is set to open on February 17.