Ant-Man and the Wasp soars with $11+ million from Thursday night opening

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

You don’t need to be adept with tarot cards or practice black magic to be able to predict that Marvel is going to make some serious money this weekend with ANT-MAN AND THE WASP. As to be expected with a Marvel sequel this new adventure featuring the re-sizing characters is expected to make more than its predecessor, and so far, the movie is right on track with an $11.5 million Thursday night opening.

The numbers (via Deadline) are almost double what the first ANT-MAN made back in 2015 ($6.4 million), with some projections saying it could even be as high as $13 million. This is even above than what DOCTOR STRANGE made back in 2016 ($9.4 million) before that movie opened with a terrific $85 million opening. Should the attendance rate hold this means the latest Marvel adventure will have no problem making it to $80+ million for its inaugural weekend. Can I get a “buzz-buzz!” from the crowd? It’s like “what-what!” but…with insects.

As noted by Deadline, the Fandango presales for ANT-MAN AND THE WASP are outdoing DOCTOR STRANGE at the same point and are actually closer to the likes of SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING, which debuted at $117 million. That movie had a $15 million Thursday night and opened during the same frame last year (first weekend of July) as ANT-MAN is this year. Though ANT-MAN breaking $100 million at the box office this weekend is unlikely, the movie’s terrific reviews from fans and critics could propel the movie to rise above expectations into the $90+ million territory. 

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP is in theaters now!