Ant-Man and The Wasp Ant-Man and the Wasp - Box Office Discussion

[Johnglen]

Overseas performance compared to Ant-Man (in $):

Country - AMatW - Ant-Man

South Korea - $20.9M - Not available
Mexico - $6.7M - $5.3M
Indonesia - $5.6M - Not available
Russia - $4.9M - $4.7M
Australia - $4.7M - $3.9M
Taiwan - $4.6M - $2.9M
Hong Kong - $3.6M - $2.4M
Brazil - $3.5M - $3.9M

Source: BOR for AMatW, BOM for Ant-Man.

Not really great results anywhere but South Korea. Of course it would increase from the first, the fact that it actually decreased in Brazil is quite embarrassing while the rest of the increases aren’t anything to write home about considering most of these countries are emerging, hence the box office in these countries is growing on a yearly basis.

The U.S opening is obviously embarrassing, people should just accept it. The character was in civil war, the marketing was spectacular , the MCU is the hottest thing in cinema right now. Comparing it to the first one just to make it seem better makes no sense whatsoever. Truth be told it won’t actually surpass the first in total b.o revenue in the U.S by much, if it actually surpasses it cause the first signs for its legs are not good at all.

Maybe marvel should let things cool down a bit and release it in September.

 

[iEquinox]

Deadline on the OS numbers:

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP

Ahead of the weekend, industry sources were giving Disney/Marvel’s insects a $50M-$70M range. We believed the lower number was conservative and that $75M+ was more likely. Ultimately, the sequel sized up, landing $85M in 41 material markets (48% of the international footprint). The overall bow is 45% ahead of the original film with Asian markets leaning in.

Korea was the biggest play with $20.9M including previews. Excluding the sneaks, AW&TW bowed to $15.5M to become the No. 6 Marvel debut in the market, and the 2nd best of the year behind Avengers: Infinity War as well as 78% better than the original. Overall, Infinity War is believed to have increased Ant-icipation a tick — the film’s epilogue contains a nod to that pic.

The Latin American region posted $17M with Mexico in the lead at $6.7M, about 25% above Ant-Man. Brazil was soft at $3.5M in a competitive landscape, battling it out with World Cup play on Friday and as holidays begin. In Europe, the smaller markets that opened took in $10M. Several big guns are still to come with France next weekend followed by Germany, then the UK. China will buzz in after the summer blackout.

Overall, when looking at the same suite of opening markets and at current exchange rates, the $85M bow is 28% ahead of AM&TW‘s other close comp, Captain America: Winter Soldier. The top hubs behind Korea and Mexico were Indonesia ($5.6M), Russia ($4.9M) and Australia ($4.7M). A visit to Taiwan by Rudd and Lilly — a first for Marvel talent — paid off with $4.6M.

https://deadline.com/2018/07/ant-ma...a-global-international-box-office-1202422761/

 

[Evil Twin]

Not really great results anywhere but South Korea. Of course it would increase from the first, the fact that it actually decreased in Brazil is quite embarrassing while the rest of the increases aren’t anything to write home about considering most of these countries are emerging, hence the box office in these countries is growing on a yearly basis.

There's also something called the World Cup going on. That's going to sap a lot of international attention.


At the end of the day, it's Ant-Man, a character that's had difficulty sustaining a comic book throughout his history for various reasons. It's not surprising it's not as big as Marvel's other franchises.

 

[SomeOldGuy]

I was expecting OW to be 85 but 76 is still a good number

It’s fine. It’s right in line with projections. I’m expecting decent legs as well. It’s coming out at the tail end of a flood of blockbusters and would-be blockbusters and a lot of folks are still catching up (I still haven’t seen either I2 or JWFK but they’re on my list).

 

[iEquinox]

Comparing it to the first one just to make it seem better makes no sense whatsoever.

So it "makes no sense whatsoever" to compare a sequel to its direct predecessor, huh? That's some strange logic you got there, lol.

 

[AvengerPA]

I think there will be an Ant-Man 3, but it will not be until at least 2022 when we get it. A four-year wait will suffice.

 

[Webfoot Hero]

Not really great results anywhere but South Korea. Of course it would increase from the first, the fact that it actually decreased in Brazil is quite embarrassing while the rest of the increases aren’t anything to write home about considering most of these countries are emerging, hence the box office in these countries is growing on a yearly basis.

The U.S opening is obviously embarrassing, people should just accept it. The character was in civil war, the marketing was spectacular , the MCU is the hottest thing in cinema right now. Comparing it to the first one just to make it seem better makes no sense whatsoever. Truth be told it won’t actually surpass the first in total b.o revenue in the U.S by much, if it actually surpasses it cause the first signs for its legs are not good at all.

Maybe marvel should let things cool down a bit and release it in September.

For as much time as you seem to spend in box office threads, your logic is really broken. As with any franchise, analysts and those curious always compare the sequel to its predecessor; CW was more of a glorified cameo so it's not an accurate comparison. It experienced growth in a crowded summer film schedule on a holiday weekend that isn't the draw it once was due to more people ending up traveling out of town. Throw in the World Cup splitting and/or delaying its release in several key markets and you can't really draw a final conclusion as to how the movie will end up doing. The film still managed to hit in the middle of the latest tracking numbers (most were predicting between $70-$80 million OW) so I'm sure Marvel is okay with its performance.

 

[Iceman]

There's also something called the World Cup going on. That's going to sap a lot of international attention.


At the end of the day, it's Ant-Man, a character that's had difficulty sustaining a comic book throughout his history for various reasons. It's not surprising it's not as big as Marvel's other franchises.

And it's been one of the best World Cups in a long time.

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

The UK is in the throes of World Cup/Love Island fever... Disney made the right choice in delaying.

If their marketing is good, they should be fine.

 

[SomeOldGuy]

Some more OS detail...

UPDATE, WRITETHRU: Disney/Marvel’s Ant-Man And The Wasp took flight in 41 offshore markets this session, supersizing to $85M for its international box office bow. The Paul Rudd/Evangeline Lilly sequel buzzed in about 45% ahead of the first film and landed above industry expectations, despite the lack of some key markets in this early mix. Spreading its wings across Latin America, mostly smaller hubs in Europe and some Asian markets outside of China, AM&TW got off to a strong Korea start, leading play at $20.9M (including previews), 78% ahead of the original.

Asia-Pacific as a region came in 51% above Ant-Man, with the insects No. 1 in all releases save New Zealand. China’s not part of this suite and will come after the summer blackout. The Middle Kingdom currently has its hands full with black comedy Dying To Survive thriving. Local estimates have it at $151M for the three-day and $196M-$200M including previews ($5.7M from IMAX). ComScore is seeing a $146M weekend and $192M total so far. We’ll update as numbers become clearer, but either way, it’s the No. 1 movie overseas this weekend (see more below & here).

For the studios, however, the Peyton Reed-helmed Ant-Man And The Wasp is tops, and also tuned its antennae to $17M across Latin America with a leading $6.7M in Mexico (+25% on the original). Brazil was soft in a competitive landscape, battling it out with World Cup play on Friday and as holidays begin.

Overall, in the same bucket of markets and current exchange rates, the estimated $85M opening is also 28% ahead of Captain America: Winter Soldier and 24% ahead of Thor: The Dark World. The global IMAX take was $10M. Still to come in the staggered rollout are France, Germany, the UK, Italy and Japan through the summer (and China).

https://deadline.com/2018/07/ant-ma...a-global-international-box-office-1202422761/

 

[iEquinox]

It's also important to note that, while it may have the lowest opening weekend out of all MCU sequels, it also has the lowest budget out of all MCU sequels.

Marvel Studios has a very good track record with keeping budgets well balanced with the box office results: their high budget movies do big numbers and their lower budget movies do smaller numbers. They seem to have a very good idea of what to expect from their movies, and they're good at keeping the budgets in control.

Sure, it may not be pulling mindblowing numbers, but it was never expected to do that anyway. In the end it's still opening in the tracking range, and it's a 33% increase over the first. And, much like the first one, it's going to turn a nice profit, so all is well.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Image made this past Monday
(* numbers are not final / still in theaters)

domestic opening weekend sequel increases (lowest to highest)
Avengers - Age of Ultron: -7.79%
Iron Man 2: +29.29%
Thor - The Dark World: +30.35%
Ant-Man and the Wasp: +32.86% (Disney estimate July 8 2018)
Avengers - Infinity War: +34.73%
Iron Man 3: +35.92%
Thor - Ragnarok: +43.16%
Captain America - The Winter Soldier: +46.06%
Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2: +55.33%
Captain America - Civil War: +88.52%

 

[Raiden]

I think there will be an Ant-Man 3, but it will not be until at least 2022 when we get it. A four-year wait will suffice.

4 years is too long to wait for a sequel, and I'm pretty sure the next movie will be even bigger than this one. We have barely scratched the mystery that is the Quantum Realm; I can see them fully exploring that dimension in the third movie.

As for the BO, I think they should have moved it to the Winter Season instead of July; there's really no reason why they'd have a 6 month gap between AWATW and Capt. Marvel.

 

[KangConquers]

:-( It looks like no Ant-Man 3.

 

[Johnglen]

For as much time as you seem to spend in box office threads, your logic is really broken. As with any franchise, analysts and those curious always compare the sequel to its predecessor; CW was more of a glorified cameo so it's not an accurate comparison. It experienced growth in a crowded summer film schedule on a holiday weekend that isn't the draw it once was due to more people ending up traveling out of town. Throw in the World Cup splitting and/or delaying its release in several key markets and you can't really draw a final conclusion as to how the movie will end up doing. The film still managed to hit in the middle of the latest tracking numbers (most were predicting between $70-$80 million OW) so I'm sure Marvel is okay with its performance.

The first ant man opened really low so the sequel didn’t have a mountain to climb to surpass it. Even so the first ant man had an over 3x multiplier which seemed to imply that people actually enjoyed it and that this would help the sequel tremendously. On top of that the second film had a more aggressive marketing campaign, the MCU is at an even better state now, it had an attractive (not just physically) female character and so on.

77 million, the actual number I expect is on the extremely low side and I consider it a big failure as an opening weekend.

Also not sustaining a comic book means nothing to me. People are making a mistake measuring these films by how popular the characters are on the comic books, it’s the same mistake people were making when they were predicting that GOTG would fail because “nobody knows these characters”. GOTG caught on with the audiences as a fun space adventure, the level of fame of its characters was basically irrelevant.

The ant man concept seems like a very good one actually to catch on in the movies and truth be told I expected AATW to be the breakout film for it but it wasn’t meant to be.

 

[Raiden]

:-( It looks like no Ant-Man 3.

I do not share your pessimism. Mark my word: there WILL be Ant-Man 3.

 

[Adder]

So it "makes no sense whatsoever" to compare a sequel to its direct predecessor, huh? That's some strange logic you got there, lol.

We obviously can only compare Antman to Civil War, IW and BP. LOL

 

[Zyraquis]

I think it will have good leg, two family movies still made good money in its opening week.

For a sequel I still think 50/50 chance even most here think it’s a lock. There are too many choices assuming MCU gets its paws on fox characters and whatever new franchise they are launching do better numbers.

 

[Tekic]

:-( It looks like no Ant-Man 3.

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but it's starting to sound an awful lot like how some were reacting to the first Ant-Man's box-office. A bunch of people were sure there wasn't going to be an Ant-Man 2, yet here we are. Calm down folks. The movie's doing fine.

 

[Iceman]

For me it's about equal to the first one.

Hopefully I like it more than the first one when I see it. I often prefer sequels when the films are of the same quality.

 

[Iceman]

Some more OS detail...



https://deadline.com/2018/07/ant-ma...a-global-international-box-office-1202422761/

Asia coming in at 51% above Ant Man sounds like a great increase.

 

[InCali]

Deja vu to the last Ant-man box office thread.

“Lowest MCU opening since Incredible Hulk! Doom and gloom! Sound the alarms!”

Katy bar the door. It's superhero fatigue....the public won't stand for mediocrity!!! (they prefer worse when it comes to public officials).

There was absolutely nothing wrong with this movie. It might not be your cup of tea, but that's another matter.

I think it's pretty easily explained in hindsight:

First there's the obvious factors that add to the weekend's frontloadedness:

• It's July so pretty much all schools are out, that gives the Thursday number a big boost.
• It's a sequel and that always comes with some added frontloading.
• Thursday previews have gotten more and more popular over time, which lowers the internal multipliers.

And then there were some more specific special circumstances this time around as well:

• Thursday was the day after Independence Day, so on top of schools being out, many adults had the day off as well.
• Previews started at 6PM instead of the usual 7PM. That's the earliest start time for Thursday previews in the MCU(tied with Infinity War, all others started at 7PM or later), so there was an extra hour of showtimes on Thursday relative to the obvious comparisons.

And after the opening day it closely followed Spider-Man: Homecoming's trajectory. It made $23.1M on Friday excluding previews, and Homecoming's multi off of that true Friday number would have gotten it to $75.6M for the weekend, pretty much identical to what it's ending up with.

Thanks, as always, for a logical look.

The worst thing about the movie was the sneaky peekies.....better than GotG's Howard the Duck though....

 

[Frodo]

I gotta say, I didn't even realize it was coming out this weekend until Friday night. I somehow thought it was coming out in a couple weeks ..

I would have seen it Thursday like I do with all the big releases if I knew. I can't speak to the marketing since i've been following US political shows this week as opposed to network tv.

Its also been hot as hell this week in Socali this week.

I'm gonna try to see it sometime this week.

 

[InCali]

:-( It looks like no Ant-Man 3.

If it fits into the story line of the larger MCU, there's no reason there won't be an AM3. If it doesn't, there won't be. This isn't a box office issue and my guess is that Marvel has more plans we don't know about. That's just a guess on my part.

For the Doomsayers out there, you'd make a better villain than a prognosticator.

 

[InCali]

I gotta say, I didn't even realize it was coming out this weekend until Friday night. I somehow thought it was coming out in a couple weeks ..

I would have seen it Thursday like I do with all the big releases if I knew. I can't speak to the marketing since i've been following US political shows this week as opposed to network tv.

Its also been hot as hell this week in Socali this week.

I'm gonna try to see it sometime this week.

Dude(tte)....tell me about it. I thought it was hot in Santa Monica and then I had to drive down to Orange County. Fortunately, I was able to avoid Riverside.