Ant-Man and the Wasp: Will it break Marvel's $100mn opening streak?

Ant-Man, Facebook
Ant-Man, Facebook

It will be yet another Marvel-lous weekend at the box office as Ant-Man and the Wasp is all set to hit the screens on Friday. The movie, sequel to Ant-Man released in 2015, stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Ant-Man and the Wasp will be the third Marvel release this year, following Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War. While the two releases have made new records at the box office, the new Ant-Man movie might not reach hit a similar mark, box office predictions hint.

The movie is expected to mark a debut at $75 million-$85 million domestic collections, The Hollywood Reporter shared. The prediction is higher than the original Ant-Man movie's opening collection three years ago. The 2015 superhero flick earned $57.2 million in the opening weekend of its summer release.

While the numbers are good, the film is set to break Marvel's $100 million opening weekend collection streak. The previous three Marvel movies have easily surpassed the $100 million mark in its opening weekend.

Thor: Ragnarok, released in November 2017, opened to a splendid $115 million collection. Black Panther stunned everyone with a massive $192 million box office collection while Avengers: Infinity War set the box office on fire with the opening weekend collection of a whopping $258.2 million.

Photos from Avengers: Infinity War shared by Marvel.
Photos from Avengers: Infinity War shared by Marvel. Marvel/ Facebook

Considering the massive popularity of its earlier releases, Marvel might hit a small speed bump in its streak of hugely successful opening weekends with Ant-Man and the Wasp.

However, the hype surrounding the Ant-Man sequel ensures that the movie would win over the box office this weekend. And the positive reviews so far are only adding to the buzz.

"Ant-Man and the Wasp is a hilarious return to the shrinking heroes, but with elevated action and a heartfelt story, it's a well-rounded Marvel sequel," reads Screen Rant's review.

"["Ant-Man and The Wasp"] is pretty much exactly what I'd want in a superhero movie: a funny cast, zippy action scenes and not an infinity stone in sight," Associated Press review reads.

"[F]ast-paced, laugh-out-loud funny, and packed full of one-size-fits-all blockbuster entertainment sure to excite fans young and old. But what it has more than anything else is heart and soul," adds the Forbes review.