‘Ant-Man And The Wasp’ Pulls An Impressive Thursday Opening, ‘The First Purge’ Also Doesn’t Disappoint

Ant-Man And The Wasp surprised no one with a strong Thursday premiere, pulling in a rock-solid $11.5 million.

The movie is projected to go through the weekend and grab up at least $87 million, though isn’t off track to overperform. If it does overperform, it would be the sixth film in the Marvel universe to top $90 million on opening weekend.

While Disney’s Solo: A Star Wars Story underperformed, it was still profitable and further Star Wars sequels, including and most especially the forthcoming Episode IX, which is yet unnamed, is still unlikely to flop. A Boba Fett movie is also still planned.

Between Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar, Disney is having an unprecedented year in terms of box office revenue. Disney and Pixar’s Incredibles 2 has also had a huge run at the box office and has taken in nearly half-a-billion dollars at the domestic box office by itself since its release less than a month ago. Worldwide, Incredibles 2 has grossed over $600 million.

On nearly the opposite end of the spectrum, far removed from family-friendly titles, The First Purge opened one day ahead of Ant-Man And The Wasp. This R-rated horror film is the fourth entry in the lucrative franchise thus far. On opening day, it took in well over $9 million and another $4.3 million on Thursday, totaling just under $14 million before the weekend has even officially started.

The First Purge had a production budget of $13 million meaning this movie has already turned a profit for Universal Pictures. Every film in The Purge franchise has turned a profit on a relatively small budget, not an uncommon achievement for films within the horror genre.

Ant-Man And The Wasp is expected to dethrone Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom this weekend, if box office projections hold.

Meanwhile, not making quite the same noise at the box office is Boots Riley’s film debut, Sorry To Bother You, which has been generating Oscar buzz, garnering nearly universal critical acclaim, according to Rotten Tomatoes. It sits rock-solid with a 94 percent. Falling slightly short of Sorry To Bother You, Ant-Man And The Wasp still impressed, gaining 87 percent.

The First Purge faired poorly with critics, receiving a 52 percent, and doing even worse with audiences, with an audience score of 44 percent.