Plans for a thirdAnt-Man film were confirmed in November 2019, with Reed and Rudd returning. Loveness was hired by April 2020, with development beginning during theCOVID-19 pandemic. The title and new cast members, including the additions of Majors and Newton, were announced in December 2020. Filming in Turkey began in early February 2021, and additional filming occurred in San Francisco in mid-June.Principal photography began at the end of July atPinewood Studios inBuckinghamshire and ended in November. With a net production budget of $330.1 million, it isone of the most expensive films ever made.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania premiered inWestwood, Los Angeles, on February 6, 2023, and was released in the United States on February 17. It is the first film, and beginning, ofPhase Five of the MCU. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was abox-office disappointment, grossing $476.1 million worldwide and becoming one of the few MCU films to notbreak-even in its theatrical run.
Plot
Following theAvengers'sbattle againstThanos,[a]Scott Lang has become a successful memoirist and has been living happily with his girlfriend,Hope van Dyne. Scott's now-teenage daughterCassie has become an activist, helping people displaced bythe Blip, resulting in her having a strained relationship with her father. While visiting Hope's parents,Hank Pym andJanet van Dyne, Cassie reveals that she has been working on a device that can establish contact with theQuantum Realm. Upon learning of this, Janet panics and forcefully shuts off the device, but the message is received, resulting in a portal that opens and sucks the five of them into the Quantum Realm. Scott and Cassie are found by natives who are rebelling against their ruler, while Hope, Janet, and Hank explore a sprawling city to get answers.
Hope, Janet, and Hank meet withLord Krylar, a former ally of Janet's, who reveals that things have changed since she left,[b] and that he is now working forKang, the Quantum Realm's new ruler. The three are forced to flee and steal Krylar's ship. The Langs, meanwhile, are told by rebel leaderJentorra that Janet's involvement with Kang is indirectly responsible for his rise to power. The rebels soon come under attack by Kang's forces led byM.O.D.O.K., who is revealed to beDarren Cross, having survived his apparent death at the hands of Scott,[c] and who previously received Cassie's message. Aboard Krylar's ship, Janet confesses to Hope and Hank that she met Kang when she was previously in the Quantum Realm. He claimed that he and Janet could both escape from the Quantum Realm if she helped him rebuild hismultiversal power core. After they managed to repair it, Janet saw a vision of Kang conquering and destroying entire timelines. Kang revealed he was exiled by his variants out of fear, which drove Janet to turn against him. Outmatched, Janet used her Pym Particles to enlarge the power core beyond use. Kang, having regained his powers, eventually conquered the Quantum Realm afterward.
The Langs are taken to Kang, who demands that Scott help get his power core back or else he will kill Cassie. Scott is then taken to the core's location and shrinks down. In the core, he encounters a probability storm, which causes him to split into multiple copies of himself nearly overwhelming him, but Hope arrives and helps him acquire the power core. However, Kang reneges on the deal, capturing Janet with M.O.D.O.K. destroying her ship with Hank on it. After being rescued by his ants, who rapidly evolved and became hyper-intelligent after being pulled into the Quantum Realm, Hank helps Scott and Hope as they make their way to Kang. Cassie rescues Jentorra and they commence an uprising against Kang and his army. During the fight, Cassie convinces Cross to switch sides and fight Kang, with him eventually sacrificing his life.
Janet fixes the power core as she, Hank, Hope, and Cassie jump through a portal home. Kang attacks Scott at the last minute. Before he can beat Scott into submission, Hope returns, and she and Scott throw Kang and the Pym Particles into the power core, destroying them both. Cassie reopens the portal for Scott and Hope to return home. As Scott happily resumes his life, he begins to rethink what he was told about Kang's death being the start of something terrible happening, but brushes it off. In amid-credits scene,numerous variants of Kang, led byImmortus, commiserate Kang's death and plan their multiversal uprising. In a post-credits scene,Loki andMobius M. Mobius encounter another Kang variant,Victor Timely, at theChicago World's Fair in 1893.[d]
Evangeline Lilly asHope van Dyne / Wasp: The daughter of Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne who is handed down a similar suit and the Wasp mantle from her mother.[11] She serves as the head of thePym van Dyne Foundation, which uses the Pym Particles for humanitarian efforts.[12] Lilly said the film would explore how the character deals with her "fragilities and her vulnerabilities", continuing from howAnt-Man and the Wasp (2018) showed how powerful and capable she was.[10]
Jonathan Majors asKang the Conqueror: A "time-traveling, multiversal adversary" trapped in theQuantum Realm who needs Pym Particles to get his ship and a device online that would allow him to go anywhere and when in time.[13][14][15] Kang is an alternate-timeline variant of the characterHe Who Remains, the creator of theTime Variance Authority (TVA), who was introduced in the finale offirst season ofLoki (2021).[13] Kang was described byLoki season onehead writerMichael Waldron as the "next big cross-movie villain" for the MCU,[13] whileQuantumania writerJeff Loveness described Kang as a "top-tier, A-list Avengers villain".[16] Majors said Kang is different from He Who Remains, who is not inQuantumania, with a shifted psychology, portraying Kang differently from He Who Remains due to the different characters surrounding him and transitioning from a series to a film.[17] He was attracted to Kang's "character and dimensions" and the potential that presented to him as an actor, noting Kang would be a different type of villain to the MCU thanErik Killmonger and Thanos were,[18] as well as the possibility of playing a complex villain about whom everyone has to be careful, akin toIago inWilliam Shakespeare's tragedyOthello.[19] Loveness wanted to focus on Kang as a human being by exploring his humanity and vulnerability as a "very lonely" character before he reaches "apocalyptic, Avengers-scale heights". He contrasted this to Thanos by not creating him entirely fromcomputer-generated imagery, and said Kang would be "Thanos on an exponential level".[16] He also said that because the concept of time travel had already been explored inEndgame, he had to broaden his approach to Kang to focus more on themultiverse, his dimensionality, and his "limitless freedom" from his time, and how different versions of the character would destroy it and make it their own.[20] Loveness researched the different versions of Kang from the comics such asRama-Tut and theScarlet Centurion and described him as an "infinite snake eating infinite tails" in being "a man literally at war against himself".[21] DirectorPeyton Reed likened the character toAlexander the Great as a reference point for Majors,[15] who also found inspiration inGenghis Khan andJulius Caesar. Majors said that Kang would be the "supervillain of supervillains" and looked to contrastTony Stark / Iron Man, who he called the "superhero of superheroes".[22] Majors added 10 pounds (4.5 kg) of muscle for the role, focusing on strength and conditioning training.[18] Reed saidQuantumania would show a "different flavor" of Majors's approach to Kang's alternate versions and explained that Kang "has dominion over time", calling him a warrior, strategist, and "all-timer antagonist" compared to the antagonists of the priorAnt-Man films as a "force of nature",[23] one that adds "tonal diversity, real conflict and real friction".[15] Given his work with time, Kang does not live a linear life.[19]
Kathryn Newton asCassie Lang: Scott Lang's 18-year-old daughter who acquires a suit similar to her father's.[9][26] She is scientifically inclined, and gains an interest in Pym's old notes and learning more about the science and technology from the Quantum Realm. Reed said that he wanted to further develop the relationship between Cassie and Scott, as it was central to the previousAnt-Man films.[19] The character was previously portrayed as a child byAbby Ryder Fortson in the previousAnt-Man films and as a teenager byEmma Fuhrmann inEndgame.[27]
David Dastmalchian as Veb: A slime-like creature that lives in the Quantum Realm whose ooze can make anyone understand Quantum Realm language. Dastmalchian previously portrayedKurt in the first twoAnt-Man films.[28]
Katy O'Brian asJentorra: The humanoid leader of the Freedom Fighters rebelling against Kang's oppression of the communities in the Quantum Realm.[29][30] O'Brian auditioned for the role, despite previously working with Reed on theStar Wars seriesThe Mandalorian, and originally believed she was auditioning forThe Marvels (2023). Despite the character appearing in the comics, O'Brian was encouraged to create the character as she chose.[31] O'Brian previously appeared as Kimball in theMarvel Television seriesAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.[32]
Bill Murray asLord Krylar: The humanoid governor of the lavish Axia community in the Quantum Realm,[33] who has a history with Janet van Dyne in the Quantum Realm.[34][35] Reed believed Murray's character represented a person's past "always find[ing] a way to show up again" and the film's theme of secrets between family members and how they are each affected by them.[19]
Corey Stoll asDarren Cross / M.O.D.O.K.: Pym's former protégé who was shrunken to subatomic size in the Quantum Realm during the events ofAnt-Man (2015) and became a mutated, cybernetically enhanced individual with an oversized head known asM.O.D.O.K.[37][9][38] Loveness described the character as a cross betweenKevin Kline's Otto West fromA Fish Called Wanda (1988) andFrank Grimes fromThe Simpsonsseason eight episode "Homer's Enemy" (1997). Loveness felt M.O.D.O.K. to be his favorite character in the film because they put a "little extra" on him, and said M.O.D.O.K.'s ego would be crumbled throughout the film whenever he is challenged, but like Otto West, easily kills as a "real loose cannon".[39]
Michael Douglas as Dr.Hank Pym / Ant-Man: A formerS.H.I.E.L.D. agent, entomologist, and physicist who became the original Ant-Man after creating the suit.[11] In the film, Pym was written to be more "relaxed" than in previous MCU appearances, as he is more focused on reacquainting with Janet than his work. As a result, Broussard described Pym as "a little more sure of himself" and "not looking around every corner". Loveness believed that Pym's fascination with ants, a trait only comically referenced previously, was a critical hallmark of the character, and thus decided to expand on it in the film. Broussard felt the expansion was "a weird thing ... but also awesome ... a bit of an acknowledgment of ... a weird obsession for this guy who's totally owned it."[40]
Ahead of the release ofAnt-Man and the Wasp (2018), directorPeyton Reed said there were elements of that film that leave "a lot to play with" in a potential third film in the franchise. He highlighted theQuantum Realm, which was introduced inAnt-Man (2015) and explored further inAnt-Man and the Wasp; Reed said they were "just dipping our toes into it" for the previous films.[45] Reed added that he andMarvel Studios were hopeful about a third film and had discussed potential story points for such a sequel.[46] In February 2019,Hank Pym actorMichael Douglas confirmed that informal discussions regarding a sequel toAnt-Man and the Wasp had taken place,[47] though by that timeEvangeline Lilly had not heard of any plans for her characterHope van Dyne / Wasp following her role inAvengers: Endgame (2019). Lilly stated that "Hope is mid-journey. I don't see her journey as being over by any stretch."[48] That October,Michelle Pfeiffer expressed interest in reprising her role ofJanet van Dyne in a sequel,[49] while Marvel Studios presidentKevin Feige was asked about the future ofPaul Rudd'sScott Lang / Ant-Man in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) followingEndgame, and responded that "the chess pieces were arranged very purposefully" at the end of that film, with some taken "off the board" and others, like Ant-Man, "still on [the board, so] you never know".[50] Rudd was asked whether he would be returning to the role, either in a thirdAnt-Man film or as part of another hero's MCU franchise, and said that both of those options had been discussed.[51]
Reed officially signed on to direct a thirdAnt-Man film at the start of November 2019. Rudd was set to star as Lang,[8] with Lilly and Douglas also returning.[11] Filming was scheduled to begin in January 2021 with a likely release date in 2022.[52][8] Reed was hired again, despite Marvel's interest in new filmmakers bringing different takes to their heroes for each film, because executives felt he had "a real grasp on theAnt-Man universe and want[ed] to see him return to wrap up his trilogy".[11]Jeff Loveness was hired to write the script for the film during "the early days of Hollywood's shutdown" due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, and he had begun working on the screenplay by April 2020. At that point, it was no longer clear when production would begin on the film due to the effects of the pandemic on all film productions.[53]Chris McKenna,Eric Pearson, Rudd, andErik Sommers received credit for additional off-screen literary material.[54] In August 2020, Reed confirmed that development on the film was continuing during the pandemic. He said that Lilly would continue to get equal billing in the film alongside Rudd as she is "a very, very important part" of the partnership between Ant-Man and the Wasp, despite rumors that her role would be reduced following controversial comments about the pandemic. Reed added that the story for the film had been "cracked", though "nothing [was] official yet",[55] and said the third film would be a "bigger, more sprawling movie than the first two [with] a very different visual template".[56] Reed stated they wanted to further explore the Quantum Realm in the film as a "massiveworld-building undertaking", and compared its design toelectron microscope photography, theHeavy Metal magazine issues of the 1970s and 1980s and his favoritescience fiction cover artists such asJean Giraud forfantastical realism.[14] Marvel Studios producerBrian Gay said the film would "feel like a real departure" from the first twoAnt-Man films and be a big adventure.[57] Fellow Marvel Studios executiveStephen Broussard produced the film alongside Feige.[58]
Pre-production
Jonathan Majors was cast as Kang the Conqueror for the film, and the character was subsequently planned as the main antagonist ofthe Multiverse Saga during production.[59]
Jonathan Majors was cast in September 2020 in a "lead role" for the film, which was reported to beKang the Conqueror.[60] Because the actor cast as Kang would first portray an alternate version of the character, namedHe Who Remains, in theDisney+ seriesLoki,Kate Herron andMichael Waldron—the director andhead writer ofLoki'sfirst season, respectively—were involved in casting Majors in addition to Reed and executives at Marvel Studios;[61][13] Marvel Studios were eager to work with and cast Majors after seeing his performance inThe Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019), with Reed very supportive of approaching Majors.[62] Majors was approached for the role without an audition,[63] and later noted he had been involved in the film "since the beginning" before joiningLoki.[17] Reed was interested in having Ant-Man and the Wasp go up against a formidable foe in the film, believing Kang to be one of Marvel Comics' "all-timers" likeLoki andDoctor Doom.[19]
In November 2020, filming was expected to start in 2021.[64] The following month, Pfeiffer confirmed her involvement and that filming would begin in mid-2021,[36] while she and Douglas both indicated that the film would be released in 2022.[65][66] Later in December at Disney's Investor Day, Feige revealed the film's title asAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, confirmed the return of Rudd, Lilly, Douglas and Pfeiffer, alongside Majors as Kang, and revealed thatKathryn Newton had joined the film asCassie Lang.[27] Newton originally auditioned for the role ofKate Bishop in the Disney+ miniseriesHawkeye (2021), beforeHailee Steinfeld was cast as the character.[67]Emma Fuhrmann, who played the character as a teenager inAvengers: Endgame, was saddened by the announcement of Newton taking over the role, and hoped to be involved in the MCU in the future.[68] Later that month, Loveness revealed that he had turned in the first draft of the script, and said Marvel had used the COVID-19 pandemic break to "do something new and weird" with the film.[69] Loveness was inspired by several "father and daughter" films starringSteve Martin orRobin Williams from the 1990s, likeFather of the Bride,Hook (both 1991) andJumanji (1995), with Loveness feeling that because he admired all those father characters, he could mix the "underdog dad" hero energy with Rudd's likability to make it a through line for the film.[70] Broussard described the film as a "family adventure" film that becomes "an epic sci-fi war movie and a coming-of-age story".[71]: 2–3
On February 4, 2021, Turkey'sMinister of Culture and TourismMehmet Ersoy announced that shooting for the film had begun in the country's region ofCappadocia, with the production also set to film in other parts of Turkey.[72] At the beginning of March,Tip "T.I." Harris was revealed to not be returning as his characterDave from the first twoAnt-Man films.[73][74] This news came aftersexual abuse allegations against Harris and his wifeTameka Cottle arose at the end of February, butVariety reported that this was unrelated and Harris was never set to return for the sequel.[73] In early May 2021, Marvel Studios announced that the film would be released on February 17, 2023.[75] In mid-June, Rudd and Douglas headed to England to prepare for filming.[76][77] Shooting to capture exterior shots and background plates took place at theSan Francisco Police Department Central Station inNorth Beach, San Francisco on June 19 and 20, with filming of the station's interior, the outward view of the building, and downtown San Francisco.[78] In July, Joanna Robinson ofVanity Fair reported thatCorey Stoll, who portrayedDarren Cross / Yellowjacket inAnt-Man, would appear in "some shape" forQuantumania.[79] Reed planned to feature comedianTom Scharpling again in the film, after his cameos in the previous two films were ultimately cut from the theatrical releases; however, the scene in which he would have been featured was cut before it was filmed.[80]
Filming
Principal photography began on July 26, 2021,[81] atPinewood Studios inBuckinghamshire,[82] using theworking titleDust Bunny,[83] withBill Pope serving as cinematographer.[84]Industrial Light & Magic provided the sameStageCraft virtual production technology Reed used while directing episodes of theDisney+Star Wars seriesThe Mandalorian.[82] Will Htay served as the production designer.[85] Principal photography was previously set to begin in January 2021 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[52][53][86] It was then expected to take place between May 31 and September 24.[87] By September 16, over 50 crew members from Pinewood Studios productions, mainlyQuantumania andIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), contractednorovirus following an outbreak at the studio. The main cast was not affected.[88] In October, the film's release was delayed to July 28, 2023.[89] Later that month,Bill Murray revealed he had shot material for a Marvel film with Reed, which was believed to beQuantumania. Murray explained he joined the project as he liked Reed and his work onBring It On (2000), despite not being interested in superhero films,[90] before he further indicated his involvement in the film, but said he could not comment on his prior statement;[91][92] Murray later said he was playing a "bad guy" in the film.[35] During the filming process, the screenplay was reportedly still being worked on at the same time, with multiple scenes involving Murray andKaty O'Brian'sJentorra later being scrapped, resulting in Murray's character seemingly dying.[31] Principal photography was completed in November 2021.[93] Filming was also expected to take place inAtlanta,[87] and the production was slated to move to San Francisco in 2022 with the cast.[78]
Post-production
In April 2022, the film was moved back to its February 17, 2023, release date, swapping places withThe Marvels becauseQuantumania was further along in production than that film.[94] In September 2022,Randall Park was confirmed to be reprising his role asJimmy Woo,[41] and Feige called the film "a direct line" intoPhase Five and the plannedPhase Six filmAvengers: The Kang Dynasty,[95] with Majors attached to reprise his role inThe Kang Dynasty.[19] Reed stated thatQuantumania would have a "profound impact" on the MCU and that the impact of Kang's appearance in this film was discussed with Loveness forThe Kang Dynasty, which he was also writing.[23] Loveness felt that having Kang as the main villain ofQuantumania would set up the dynamic story he was developing forThe Kang Dynasty.[16] Marvel Studios was not initially planning to have "The Multiverse Saga", which comprises Phases Four, Five, and Six, revolve around Kang, but decided to after seeing Majors' performance in the first season ofLoki and thedailies while filmingQuantumania.[59] Reed also hoped the film would not be viewed as a "palate cleanser" the previous two films had been followingAvengers films, but would instead feel as big as anAvengers film.[19]Gregg Turkington was also revealed to be reprising his role as Dale, aBaskin-Robbins manager, fromAnt-Man.[42] In October 2022,William Jackson Harper was revealed to be appearing in the film in an undisclosed role,[96] and in November, O'Brian was revealed to be appearing in the film alongsideDavid Dastmalchian, who portrayedKurt in the first two films,[97] after he previously said he was not involved inQuantumania.[98] In January 2023, Dastmalchian, Harper, O'Brian, Murray, and Stoll were revealed to be playing Veb, Quaz, Jentorra,Lord Krylar,[28] andM.O.D.O.K., respectively.[37]Pick-up shots with Rudd occurred by then.[99]
The film's main-on-end title sequence was designed byPerception, which emulated the visuals of the Quantum Realm usingfluid motion and microscopic chemical reactions.[101] The visual effects were made bySony Pictures Imageworks,Industrial Light & Magic,Digital Domain,Moving Picture Company, Fin Design + Effects, Spin VFX,Rising Sun Pictures, Folks VFX, Barnstorm VFX,Base FX,Pixomondo, MARZ,Luma Pictures, Atomic Arts, Territory Studio, and Stereo D,[102] with Jesse James Chisholm as the visual effects supervisor,[84] while Adam Gerstel and Laura Jennings co-edited the film.[103] Due to the shifting release schedule of the film, the post-production period forQuantumania was reduced by four-and-a-half months, which resulted in reportedly at least 10 rushed visual effects scenes being added at the last minute.[104] Several visual effects companies that worked onQuantumania were also in post-production onBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) around the same time, which resulted in "critical resources" being diverted to focus onWakanda Forever.[105] Disney spent $194.7 million during pre-production and filming and an additional $131.9 million on post-production in 2022 for a total gross production budget of $326.6 million, which was over 63% more than an initially estimated $200 million production budget and exceeded that of Disney's internal projections for the budget. Disney also received a total reimbursement from the UK government of $50.6 million, which reduced the net budget to $276 million.[106]
In March 2023, Marvel Studios filed a request to issue asubpoena toReddit to identify the person or group who was responsible for leaking the script and subtitle file for the film in January 2023 to thesubredditr/MarvelStudiosSpoilers, as well as a subpoena toGoogle since the leaked information had been uploaded toGoogle Docs.[107] As a result of the request, r/MarvelStudiosSpoilers temporarily went private and became unavailable to the public.[108] The subreddit was reopened in July 2023.[109]
Christophe Beck was revealed to be composing the score by July 2022, after previously working on the previous twoAnt-Man films, as well as the MCUDisney+ seriesWandaVision andHawkeye (both in 2021).[110] The soundtrack album was released digitally byHollywood Records andMarvel Music on February 15, 2023,[111] with its first track, "Theme fromQuantumania", released as a digital single on February 12.[112]
Marketing
The first footage from the film was shown at the 2022San Diego Comic-Con where Feige, Reed, and the cast promoted the film and discussed the characters.[9] Further footage was shown atD23 in September, which Ryan Leston atIGN called "an intriguing glimpse" into the film.[95] A teaser trailer for the film was released on October 24, 2022. It featured "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" byElton John.[58] Tom Chapman atDen of Geek noted the trailer was "darker than ever" compared to the comedic tone of the prior twoAnt-Man films and featured "dramatic pauses and tense musical cues", but felt it was "another MCU teaser trailer that does a little too much teasing" to not reveal key details, such as the absence of the character M.O.D.O.K. who was shown in the D23 footage.[113] Charles Pulliuam-Moore ofThe Verge compared the trailer to Disney's then-upcoming filmStrange World (2022) and highlighted the Quantum Realm's appearance as being "beautiful and nonsensical",[114] whileEmpire's Owen Williams compared the Quantum Realm toEgo's planet from the MCU filmGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017).[115]
A new trailer for the film debuted during the2023 College Football Playoff National Championship on January 9 before it was released online. Daniel Chin ofThe Ringer noted the trailer had revealed "a lot" as compared to the teaser one, including the lay out of the film's plot and the first look at M.O.D.O.K. Chin felt the trailer had featured "some misdirections... but it seems to supply more advance knowledge than Marvel typically dispenses."[116] That month,Heineken released a commercial featuring Rudd to promote theirnon-alcoholic beer and the film.[117] The following month,Volkswagen released a commercial that was directed by Anthony Leonardi III to promote the film and theirSUV modelID.4.[118] Additionally, Lang's fictional memoir,Look Out for the Little Guy, was announced to be published byHyperion Avenue, created alongside Marvel Studios and the filmmakers, and was released on September 5, 2023. It features "over 20 short pieces exploring different aspects of Scott's experiences" as a father and Avenger,[119] and was written byRob Kutner. Loveness wrote the passages that were featured in the film.[120]
Release
Theatrical
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania had its world premiere atRegency Village Theatre inWestwood, Los Angeles, on February 6, 2023,[121] and was released in the United States and China on February 17, 2023.[94][122] The film was previously set to be released in 2022,[65][66] before being officially announced as releasing on February 17, 2023, in May 2021.[75] It was delayed to July 28, 2023, in October 2021,[89] and returned to the February 2023 date in April 2022.[94] It is the first film, and start of, Phase Five of the MCU.[123]
The film debuted at No. 1 on Vudu's weekly chart for the week ending April 23, 2023, following its digital purchase release on April 18.[125] It later moved to No. 2 on Vudu's chart for the week ending April 30.[126] Upon its release on PVOD,Quantumania reached No. 1 on iTunes.[127] It debuted at No. 1 on the Circana VideoScan First Alert chart for DVD and Blu-ray Disc unit sales for the week ending May 20, 2023. Blu-ray formats accounted for 69% of total unit sales, with 37% from regular Blu-ray and 32% from 4K Ultra HD, making it No. 1 on the dedicated 4K chart as well.[128] In May 2023,Quantumania debuted at No. 1 on the physical disc sales chart, according to Circana's VideoScan tracking service. It was also one of the top-performing films in terms of disc sales throughout the first half of 2023.[129]
Analytics companySamba TV, which gathers viewership data from certainsmart TVs and content providers, reported thatQuantumania was the second most-streamed program from May 17—23.[130]Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on certain American television screens, calculated that the film was streamed for 766 million minutes from May 15—21.[131][132] In the following week, from May 22–28,Quantumania recorded 460 million minutes of watch time, making it the third most-streamed film that week.[133]
Reception
Box office
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania grossed $214.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $261.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $476.1 million.[3][4] It was abox-office disappointment, falling short of its reportedbreak-even point of $600 million,[134] against a gross production budget of $388.4 million.[2] This budget was initially reported to be around $200 million.[135][134]
In January 2023,Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was projected to earn $120 million in North America over the four-dayPresidents' Day opening weekend.[136] The following month, it was projected to debut at $105–110 million domestically and $280 million globally in its opening weekend.[137] The film made $46 million on its first day, including $17.5 million from Thursday previews that began at 3 pm. It went on to debut to $106.1 million (and a total of $120.4 million over the four-day frame) from 4,345 theatres, marking the best opening of theAnt-Man series and the third-best for a February release, behindBlack Panther ($242.1 million in 2018) andDeadpool ($152.1 million in 2016).[135][3][138] The film's second weekend saw a 69% drop, down to $32 million in North America, the largest second-week domestic drop-off of anyMarvel Cinematic Universe film.[139] In its third weekend, the film earned $12.4 million, for a drop of 61%.[140]
Outside the United States and Canada, the film grossed $121.3 million in its opening weekend.[141] In its second weekend, the film earned $46.4 million, for a drop of 57%, and remained the number one non-local movie in most markets.[142] The film grossed $22 million from 52 markets in its third weekend, for a decline of 53%.[143] The top five international markets were China ($39.4 million), the UK ($23.9 million), Mexico ($18 million), France ($13.6 million), and South Korea ($12.6 million).[144]
Critical response
Thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 46% with an average rating of 5.5/10, based on 410 reviews. The site's critics consensus reads: "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania mostly lacks the spark of fun that elevated earlier adventures, but Jonathan Majors' Kang is a thrilling villain poised to alter the course of the MCU."[145] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 48 out of 100, based on 61 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[146] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, and those polled byPostTrak reported 75% of audience members gave the film a positive score, with 60% saying they would definitely recommend it.[138]
Owen Gleiberman fromVariety was critical of the film, calling it "at once fun and numbing" and stating "...if this is what Phase 5 looks like, God save us from Phases 6, 7 and 8."[147]Caryn James from theBBC stated that the movie has "Marvel's next big villain but other than that, it has nothing to offer beyond drab-looking action."[148] Wendy Ide fromThe Guardian called Majors's performance the film's "magnetic core", but said that overall the film was "baffling and illogical".[149] Ross Bonaime fromCollider also praised Majors's performance, writing he "makes for an excellent villain, who brings nuance and subtlety to his character ... Majors makes this character [Kang] likable in the beginning, but also never hides the menace and terror that he can cause at any moment." Giving the film a B−, Bonaime stated: "Quantumania is a promising, but shaky start for Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's just a shame it comes at the sake of the little guy."[150]Frank Scheck ofThe Hollywood Reporter commended Majors for "bringing real gravitas" to the film, and investing "his performance with such an arrestingly quiet stillness and ambivalence that you're on edge every moment he's onscreen." Scheck also praised Pfeiffer, writing she "is terrific in her expanded role, given the opportunity to be a badass heroine and making the most of it."[151]Manohla Dargis fromThe New York Times felt Pfeiffer, Majors, and Douglas were the "truer stars of this show", but felt the overall film was "busy, noisy and thoroughly uninspired".[152]
Richard Roeper ofChicago Sun-Times rated the film three out of four stars, writing it is a "mid-tier MCU film, with decent enough battle sequences and some nifty visuals".[153] Leah Greenblatt ofEntertainment Weekly graded the film a B+, concluding: "At just over 120 minutes, though — a blink in Marvel time — thisAnt-Man is clever enough to be fun, and wise enough not overstay its welcome. Who better understands the benefits, after all, of keeping it small?"[154]Michael Phillips of theChicago Tribune gave the film two stars out of four, stating it is "less fun, and blandly garish visually. The earlier films' throwaway jokes and welcome aversion to brutal solemnity have largely been ditched in favor of endless endgame stuff and weirdly cheesy digital world-building in the Quantum Realm."[155] Similarly, David Sims ofThe Atlantic disapprovingly compared the film to the first two entries, writing in his review: "That cleverness, combined with the special-effect goofiness of people and objects getting big and small, powered the series—and it is basically been junked here, replaced by a bunch of celestial showdowns between Kang and Ant-Man. AnytimeQuantumania allows itself to get a little silly, it's in much better shape."[156]
In February 2023, Broussard said he had started to discuss a potential fourth film with Feige and Reed.[167] Douglas said he would be interested in returning for a fourth film if Pym died in it,[168] but in April 2024 he said "I don't think I'm going to show up" for a fourth film because he had requested for Pym to die inQuantumania and was disappointed that this did not happen.[169]
^Reid, Caroline (April 19, 2024)."'Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania' Set To Blow Its Budget As Costs Surge To Nearly $330 Million".Forbes.Archived from the original on April 19, 2024. RetrievedApril 19, 2024.Disney has revealed that it expects last year's Marvel super hero movie Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania to end up over budget after it spent $131.9 million (£106.1 million) on post-production in 2022 bringing its total costs to $326.6 million (£262.6 million). [...] the filings reveal that Quantumania received a total reimbursement of $50.6 million (£40.7 million) bringing Disney's net spending on the movie to $276 million. Its box office haul failed to cover this cost.
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Marvel Studios'Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania Main on End Credits Title Sequence presents the film's main-on-end title sequence,YouTube video fromPerception's channel
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