ANT-MAN AND THE WASP Tracking For Solid $80 Million Opening Weekend; Plus Two New TV Spots
As we inch toward the eagerly-awaited release of Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp, new tracking data strongly suggests that Marvel Studios has yet another big winner on their hands. Plus, two new TV spots!
Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp, which hits U.S. theaters Thursday night, has been garnering quite a bit of critical acclaim - currently boasting an 84% Certified Fresh rating on review aggregator RottenTomatoes - and it looks like some of that praise is going to translate into major box office success.
According to Variety, the Peyton Reed-directed sequel will debut in the $70 million to $80 million range in its opening frame, which falls in line with early tracking data from mid-June. Also, considering that this is the first Marvel entry since the devastating Avengers: Infinity War, the current projection could potentially get much higher as the weekend goes on and the positive word-of-mouth begins to spread.
The original Ant-Man opened to a modest $57.2 million back in 2015, in the wake of Avengers: Age of Ultron, and went on to gross an impressive $519.3 million worldwide ($180.2M domestic; $339.1M foreign).
It's no surprise that the coming sequel will perform considerably better as it dominates July until the arrival of Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible - Fallout at the end of the month, although it may be a while till we see exactly how well it's performing since several major international markets, including the U.K., Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, and more won't be getting the film until later this summer. A China release date has also yet-to-be-set.
Plus, check out these two awesome new TV spots:
From the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes Ant-Man and The Wasp, a new chapter featuring heroes with the astonishing ability to shrink. In the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, Scott Lang grapples with the consequences of his choices as both a super hero and a father. As he struggles to rebalance his life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he’s confronted by Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym with an urgent new mission. Scott must once again put on the suit and learn to fight alongside the Wasp as the team works together to uncover secrets from the past.
Ant-Man and the Wasp features:
Director: Peyton Reed
Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man
Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne/Wasp
Michael Peña as Luis
Walton Goggins as Sonny Burch
Bobby Cannavale as Jim Paxton
Judy Greer as Maggie Lang
T.I. as Dave
David Dastmalchian as Kurt
Hannah John-Kamen as Ava/Ghost
Abby Ryder Fortson as Cassie Lang
Randall Park as Jimmy Woo
Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne
Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Bill Foster
Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym
Ant-Man and the Wasp shrinks into theaters July 6