EXCLUSIVE: We’re hearing from box office sources that Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania zoomed to a $17M-$18M last night in previews from showtimes that started at 3PM. That figure, which could be higher or lower once Disney officially reports later this morning, is where Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2‘s Thursday night was back in 2017, at $17M.
The Thursday night previews for Marvel’s crop last year were Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($36M), Thor: Love & Thunder ($29M) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ($28M).
Industry projections have the 4-day for Quantumania at $120M, but Disney thinks it’s between $105M-$110M. Nonetheless, the threequel is bound to set an opening record for the Ant-Man franchise and the third best Presidents Day opening ever after 2018’s Black Panther ($242.1M) and 2016’s Deadpool ($152.1M). Advance ticket sales earlier this week were tracking 15% behind Thor: Love and Thunder, which opened to $144.1M.
That said, according to Boxoffice Pulse data, Quantumania is outpacing the first two Ant-Man movies in presales and showtimes, and well-positioned to be the top-selling February release since 2018’s Black Panther. The film lands at more than 3,500 locations with over 50K showtimes programmed throughout the weekend, according to The Boxoffice Company, which powers showtimes and ticketing for Google, IMDb, Bing, TikTok, Apple and many others.
Critics have been unusually cruel on this Marvel movie giving it 48% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is very close to where Eternals was at 47%. However, Quantumania could prove to be Teflon to reviews, the walk-up factor here is the new MCU villain Kang the Conqueror played by Jonathan Majors, and first introduced as a variant in Disney+/Marvel Studios’ Loki. RT audience meter is currently at 84% which is higher than Thor: Love and Thunder (77%) and ahead of Ant-Man and the Wasp (80%) and near Ant-Man (85%), despite those latter movies have better reviews respectively at 87% and 83%.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2‘s Thursday repped 30% of its first day Friday which was $56M before opening to $146.5M.
Ant-Man 3‘s Thursday night figures are from industry sources, not Disney.
We stand corrected: There is another wide release this weekend and it’s Briarcliff’s 100th Liam Neeson movie Marlowe which opened Wednesday at 2,281 to $550K and fell 62% yesterday to $210K for a running total of $760K. Neeson plays the famed Raymond Chandler detective Philip Marlowe in a movie that’s directed by Neil Jordan and penned by The Departed‘s Oscar winning screenwriter William Monahan. Set in late 1930’s Bay City, Marlowe is hired to find the ex-lover of a glamorous heiress (Diane Kruger), who is the daughter of a well-known movie star (Jessica Lange). The disappearance is the first twist in a series of bewildering events, and soon Marlowe is embroiled in a deadly investigation and web of lies that he’s determined to bring to light. Critics hate the movie at 25% Rotten.
Also taking advantage of the slow mid-week before Quantumania is Fathom Events with the British slasher Winnie the Pooh: Blood & Honey at 1,700 runs. Wednesday was estimated to be $765K, with Thursday at $129K (-14%) for a two-day take of $894K, and that’s off a production cost that’s reportedly less than $100K. Directed and written by Rhys Frake-Waterfield, the pic follows the end of days of merriment as Christopher Robin, now a young man, has left Winnie-The-Pooh and Piglet to fend for themselves. As time passes, feeling angry and abandoned, the two become feral. After getting a taste for blood, Winnie-The-Pooh and Piglet set off to find a new source of food. It’s not long before their bloody rampage begins. Critics don’t know what to do with themselves on this one having graded it 9% on RT, but that’s only off 22 reviews. Terrifier 2, another cult horror pic last fall did $10.6M off a $250K production cost and ultimate 1,5K-plus theater break.
Watch the trailer here:
Among regular pics in release, Warner Bros. HBO Max title Magic Mike’s Last Dance ends week one with an estimated $12.5M after a $709K Thursday, -13% from Wednesday at an updated 2,176 locations.
Paramount’s 80 for Brady was second on Thursday with $657K (-17%), a second week of $9.7M, running total of $28.6M at 3,939 theaters.
20th Century Studios/Lightstorm/Disney’s Avatar: The Way of Water saw $530K yesterday, -24%, a ninth week of $10.9M and running total of $650.9M at 3,065. The pic is poised to become the 9th highest movie ever at the domestic box office this weekend, surpassing 2015’s Jurassic World ($653.4M).
Universal’s Knock at the Cabin booked at 3,657 had a second week of $8.5M, running total of $26.4M and Thursday of $445K, -13%.
Fifth belonged to Paramount’s 25th Anniversary edition of Titanic at 2,464 locations which did an estimated $394K, -37%, on Thursday for a first week of $10.1M. The lifetime running total is currently $669.4M.