Early numbers are beginning to pour in and it appears that I was right on the money with my prediction as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is expected to hit $100 million for the 3-day weekend after posting a $17.5 million Thursday preview. This will make Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania the third highest grossing President’s Day weekend film after Black Panther’s $202 million in 2018 and Deadpool’s $132.4 million in 2016. Reviews for this miniature adventure have been quite dismal, with critics saying this third outing lacks the fun the original two films had as it currently sits as the second worst reviewed film of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe (with Eternals’ 47% only 1 point lower on Rotten Tomatoes). However there is a gap forming between critics and fans as the audience score currently sits at 84%. Our own JimmyO gave the film an 8/10 in his review, however if I were to rate the film I’d have to go 5/10 as, in a very rare occurrence, I agree with the majority of critics on this one. Perhaps my expectations were set too high, as the Ant-Man movies have been some of my favorite in the MCU. Of course if this film is the true kick off to a new Endgame like run, I may look back at this in a more favorable light.
Second place belongs to Avatar: The Way of Water with what is estimated to be another $6.5 million added to its massive $650.9 million domestic total. That will move the Pandora set sequel up the ladder to ninth place all time on the domestic charts as it passes the $653.4 lifetime gross of Jurassic World.
Coming in third place is the continued dominance of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish with a projected weekend take of $6.4 million which would actually mean it gained 15% from last weekend. If ever there was a Little Engine That Could comparison to make, this is the film to make it with (I know what you are thinking: you’re always so timely with your references). But this movie opened with just a shade over $12 million when it launched two months ago and it was available to watch in your own homes only 17 days after its theatrical release, yet families are still going out to theaters to experience this feline sequel. If a Shrek 5 hasn’t been given the green light yet, someone has screwed up! Of course with such a small margin between Avatar and Puss, we could see a flip flop in position when final estimates are released tomorrow.
Fourth and fifth place look to be Magic Mike’s Last Dance with an estimated $4.7 million while 80 For Brady looks to tackle (see what I did there?) fifth place with an estimated $4 million. That is actually better news for the ladies of Brady as their $33 million running total has passed its reported $28 million budget while the $18 million made by Magic Mike is a far cry from its reported $45 million budget, but I guess that is all gravy when you consider the film was originally meant to go directly to HBO Max.
Have you see Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania yet? If so, let us know what you thought in the comments section and don’t forget to check back tomorrow with our full rundown of this weekend’s box office numbers.