This was a big summer for Marvel, which released two of its highest grossing movies ever -- Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther -- within a span of just a few months. Additionally, Ant-Man and the Wasp also came out this summer on a less impressive scale. The sequel may not be on the level of its two predecessors, but it's performing well for its size and is about to get a bit bigger. The movie only just opened in China, where it debuted on Friday to the impressive song of $23 million.
While it normally doesn't take this long for a blockbuster to debut in China after its U.S. release (July 6, in this case), Ant-Man and the Wasp finally arrived in Chinese theaters this weekend. There was some concern amongst box office analysts that such a long wait could hamper the sequel's performance in the East, but China isn't the second largest movie market for nothing. Ant-Man and the Wasp still opened strong in the region, collecting $23 million-$24 million, which includes Thursday midnights. Deadline projects that the film will close out the weekend with around $70 million, which would put Ant-Man and the Wasp's global box office just short of $500 million.
Crazy as it sounds, $500 million might seem small when compared to most of Marvel's other releases, but this is well within the spectrum of what was anticipated for Ant-Man and The Wasp. In fact, it might even be a bit better. The sequel is the fourth biggest MCU debut day in China, falling behind only Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War and Captain America: Civil War. The blockbuster is expected to earn $70 million after Sunday, whereas the first Ant-Man clocked in at about $40 million. This is to say that everything is alright in the world of Ant-Man.
Though the blockbuster is still in theaters and has yet to open in Japan, Ant-Man and the Wasp is currently the 17th highest grossing movie in the MCU. Again, this probably sounds low, but I wouldn't go so far as to say the movie is underperforming. Ant-Man and the Wasp is a light-hearted comedy and just about every comedy would kill to make $500 million. Domestically, it's the 15th highest grossing MCU movie and its opening was about $18 million more than the first Ant-Man.
There's no word yet on an Ant-Man 3, but Marvel has been keeping tight-lipped about Phase 4 movies, so we might not be getting an announcement soon. Be sure to stick with CinemaBlend for all the latest Marvel movie news (and just regular movies, too!), and we'll update you as soon as the information is available.
