Ant-Man and the Wasp is on its way to an impressive debut once it hits theaters this weekend. The Ant-Man sequel is tracking to open between $70 and $80 million, according to early estimates, a big improvement over its predecessor that shows Marvel does an ingenious job of building up even the smallest of characters.
Back in 2015, Ant-Man opened to a $57 million debut weekend, marking the second smallest opening weekend in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, barely beating out The Incredible Hulk. Fast forward three years, with a stellar Ant-Man outing in Captain America: Civil War and the masterful introduction of the Wasp character, Ant-Man and the Wasp has built up a nice wave of hype that has it tracking for a big box office performance.
In MCU terms, debuting at $80 million is not that big of a deal. The past two MCU movies opened with over $200 million, but Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War rode a wave of hype that only a handful of movies have ever experienced. Still, given the scope of the Ant-Man character, it is a very impressive sum.
He’s no Iron Man or Captain America yet Marvel has built up the character’s status to heights once thought unimaginable. It also doesn’t hurt that the movie is earning stellar reviews.
Ant-Man and the Wasp opens July 6.
