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.
