But good reviews or not, theaters hope Quantumania – the first blockbuster of the year – is a sign of things to come. After the turmoil of the past three years, there are some 30 more wide releases planned for 2023.
“It will feel almost in the coming weeks like a pre-pandemic moviegoing environment in terms of the marketplace,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore. “That’s very good news coming off a very tumultuous past two, three years. This is the start of a big many months for this industry. We’ve sort of been in the waiting room with holdovers like Avatar and others.”
The first Ant-Man launched with US$57.2 million domestically in 2015, the smallest opening for any movie in the MCU. It ultimately earned US$519.3 million worldwide. Its sequel, Ant-Man And The Wasp, debuted three years later with US$75.8 million and went to collect US$622.7 million globally.
China was vital for both of those releases, which each topping US$100 million there. But in recent years, particularly during the pandemic, fewer American movies have secured major releases in the heavily regulated Chinese market. Not since Avengers: Endgame in 2019 has a Disney release opened simultaneously in the US and China.
Whether China will ever go back to those pre-pandemic numbers for US movies, however, remains to be seen – especially as tensions continue to fester over the Chinese balloons surveillance program. Quantumania took in US$19 million over the weekend in China.
In its 10th weekend of release, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way Of Water remained in second place with US$6.4 million. With US$2.243 billion globally, Cameron’s sci-fi sequel has now just surpassed Titanic – currently back in theaters for its 25th anniversary – as the third-highest grossing film ever. Now, only the 2009 Avatar and Avengers: Endgame rank above The Way Of Water.
Landing in third was Universal’s Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, which has enjoyed an unusually long run in theaters as the top family option since late December. With US$5.3 over the weekend, it has totaled US$167 million domestically and more than US$400 million worldwide.
Last week’s top film, Magic Mike’s Last Dance slid to fourth place with US$5.5 million. The Channing Tatum sequel has collected US$18.1 million in two weeks.
Only one new film went into wide release against Quantumania. Open Road and Briarcliff Entertainment debuted Marlowe, with Liam Neeson playing Raymond Chandler’s classic private eye, in 2,281 locations. Marlowe, though, only mustered US$1.9 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore, with Wednesday through Sunday in parentheses. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
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