In what was disappointing for many, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania failed at the box office, at least in comparison to the MCU's usually high standards. Despite being the opening project of the MCU's Phase 5 and the second of the Multiverse Saga, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has all but ended its theatrical run with a box office haul of around $473 million worldwide (per Box Office Mojo). With the film introducing Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror, who is set to become the next major MCU villain after Thanos, many expected the third Ant-Man film to be vital to the state of the MCU and have its box office elevated as a result.
Interestingly, Ant-Mana and the Wasp: Quantumania had an extremely promising opening weekend, pulling in around $280 million worldwide. However, Ant-Man's second-weekend box office drop was substantial. The film marked the second-worst drop for any superhero movie domestically, behind only Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and the biggest MCU second-weekend drop. This ground its box office run to a halt, with the film failing to pick up anything significant in comparison to the MCU's usual standards for a variety of reasons.
5 The Ant-Man Franchise Has Always Been A Lower-Tier MCU Earner
One of the main reasons behind Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's disappointing box office run is the Ant-Man franchise itself. Unlike the Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, or Avengers movies, the Ant-Man series is a comparatively lower earner within the wider MCU. The first Ant-Man, released in 2015, earned a total of around $500 million, which was a success against its relatively small $130-$160 million budget. The second film - Ant-Man and the Wasp - outgrossed its predecessor, earning around $620 million, largely bolstered by its connections to Avengers: Infinity War.
Despite both prior Ant-Man films being successful in their own right, they were still lower earners than other franchises. When placed in comparison to the Spider-Man franchise, for example, the lowest earner was Spider-Man: Homecoming which earned $880 million, with the highest-grosser being Spider-Man: No Way Home with $1.9 billion. There have been several other MCU movies that made $1 billion or more. Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Captain America: Civil War, and Iron Man 3 all earned over $1 billion, not to mention the Avengers movies, which all crossed the threshold.
4 Superhero Fatigue Is Affecting MCU & DCU Box-Office
In tandem with the Ant-Man films' lesser box office pull is the superhero fatigue that has been affecting most major superhero movie franchises of late. Since the release of Avengers: Endgame, most MCU movies have had somewhat disappointing results at the box office outside of Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home. These two films are the only MCU releases to hit one billion dollars since Endgame, largely due to the extremely strong pull of the character of Spider-Man.
Other MCU releases in Phase 4 have been somewhat disappointing in comparison to their predecessors. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, for example, saw a box office haul of around $850 million, which pales in comparison to Black Panther's $1.3 billion total. Similarly, Thor: Love and Thunder failed to sur Thor: Ragnarok's box office total, with the likes of Eternals, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Black Widow failing to do as well as expected. This fatigue facing the MCU - and other superhero franchises with Shazam! Fury of the Gods also having an extremely disappointing run - has likely contributed to Ant-Man's lackluster box office performance.
3 Ant-Man 3’s Reviews Were Worse Than Expected
One of the elements more closely tied to the film itself that made a dent in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's box office was the film's reviews. Despite kickstarting Phase 5 and promising to be vital to the overarching story of the MCU through Kang the Conqueror, the film debuted to less than stellar reviews. With the hype for the film prior to its release being unusually high for an Ant-Man movie due to the film's promising marketing, the divisive reviews were a disappointment.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's poor critical reaction likely impacted its box office. In comparison to the first two Ant-Man films, Ant-Man 3 was much less positively reviewed. The first Ant-Man currently holds a Rotten Tomatoes score of 83%, with the sequel - Ant-Man and the Wasp - rated at 87%. Quantumania, on the other hand, has a critical rating of 47%, tying it with Eternals as the lowest-rated MCU movie to date.
2 Marvel Fans Are Clamoring For More Serious Movies
A wider MUC issue, Marvel fans may be yearning for more serious films. One of the biggest criticisms of Phase 4 was the lack of a serious tone across its many projects. From Thor: Love and Thunder to She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Hawkeye, to name but a few, Phase 4's projects were much less self-serious than those of Phases 1-3. Even Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness had its campy, pulpy elements that come with a Sam Raimi-directed film.
Due to these complaints, many were hoping that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania would be much more serious in tone than most Phase 4 movies and even the first two Ant-Man installments. With the inclusion of Kang the Conqueror, and the marketing for the film portraying it as a darker entry, hopes were high. However, much of the film did not reflect this tone. Like many Phase 4's projects, the serious moments of Ant-Man 3 were undercut by attempts at humor that often seemed out of place.
1 Fans Could Be Waiting For Ant-Man 3 To Release On Disney+
Given the new model of Hollywood that spawned out of the COVID-19 pandemic, some fans could be waiting for Ant-Man 3 to release on Disney+. Given that the COVID pandemic caused the gap between theatrical release and streaming release drastically shorten, plenty of modern studios have kept that model. While the gaps have been widened for films that have performed irably at the box office, like Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water, the studios with their own streaming services usually begin streaming theatrical releases within two-to-three months after their debuts.
This could have led many fans to wait to see Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on Disney+. With the poor reviews, unserious tone, and superhero fatigue present in Hollywood of late, fans could have decided to wait until the film is released digitally rather than flock to the theater. This would have largely impacted the film's box office run. Regardless, it is clear these many issues affected Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, with the film marking a significantly lower box office total than Marvel's usually lofty standards.
