Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania looks set to become one of the only Marvel Studios movies to fail (or barely reach) $500 million at the worldwide box office.
That puts the threequel in dubious company as its current $470 million haul means Ant-Man's latest adventure sits alongside pandemic titles such as Black Widow ($379 million), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ($432 million), and Eternals ($402 million).
Despite less than glowing reviews, both Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($955 million) and Thor: Love and Thunder ($760 million) performed incredibly well last year. Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, meanwhile, looks set to fall short of both Ant-Man ($519 million) and Ant-Man and The Wasp ($622 million).
According to Variety, with a production budget of $200 million and a marketing spend of around $100 million, the threequel will fall short of the $600 million it needs to break even.
It may, however, be able to recoup some of its losses through home entertainment and merchandise.
"There’s no question, audiences were not satisfied with 'Ant-Man 3,'" David A. Gross, the boss of movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, tells the trade. "Superhero fans are highly in tune with these stories, and that helps when the films connect, which has been almost all of the time. But in this case, it hurt."
"Marvel’s track record has been truly remarkable. I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt," he adds. "Marvel rarely misses. But it happens regularly with all kinds of movies."
This is an undeniably disappointing result for Marvel Studios and one we know has prompted a change in approach to future titles (something returning Disney CEO Bob Iger is keen to focus on based on recent remarks).
In our review of that movie, we said: "Despite being an example of why a movie shouldn’t be shot almost entirely in The Volume, every time Jonathan Majors steps on screen as Kang, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is an epic tale to astonish and a monumental chapter in the Multiverse Saga."
What did you guys think about Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania?