While it isn’t unusual for films to have varying U.S. and international release dates, Ant-Man and The Wasp stood out when it was announced that the Marvel Studios film’s worldwide release will be pushed back to August 3, or almost a month after its U.S. premiere date on July 6. Even with the delay being justified due to concerns that the upcoming World Cup might affect international box office figures, the film’s lead stars were less than thrilled about the substantial timeframe in between the U.S. and worldwide release dates.
Evangeline Lilly, who plays Hope van Dyne/The Wasp in the upcoming film, was very vocal in her concerns over the issue, according to a report from ComicBook.com that quoted her as saying that Ant-Man and The Wasp could easily be pirated due to the delayed international release, allowing people to watch the movie before its official premiere even if it’s in substandard form.
“What happens is people just pirate the movie and they see it in the worst way possible, like some s**tty version online, instead of going to a theater. They go in the end, but I don’t like that staggering.”
Paul Rudd, who will also be reprising his role as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, was similarly annoyed by the decision, as ComicBook.com noted, but saw the humor in the situation as he offered the following quip.
“Let me see if we can maybe get the World Cup moved.”
‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ Tracking to a Healthy Opening Weekend at the Box Office https://t.co/sSBfBDb8hb
— Itala Film (@italafilm) June 14, 2018
According to Den of Geek, it isn’t unusual for Marvel Studios films to be released in the United Kingdom about a few days to a week after they premiere in the United States, but due to the World Cup, Marvel parent company Disney decided to move Ant-Man and The Wasp’s release date to August 3 in the U.K. and other countries outside of the U.S. Yet it’s not the only potential blockbuster whose U.S. and international releases have been scheduled on different dates due to one of the world’s leading sporting events.
Aside from Ant-Man and The Wasp, other films with varying U.K. release dates as a result of the World Cup include Hotel Transylvania 3, which premieres on July 13 in the U.S. and July 27 in the U.K., and Hereditary, which still has no U.K. release date, but premiered in the U.S. on June 8. The Incredibles 2’s U.S. release date is on Friday, June 15, or close to a month before its July 13 U.K. release, though Den of Geek noted that Pixar films usually premiere much earlier in the United States.