Ant-Man 3 Is Officially the Lowest-Grossing MCU Sequel Ever: Time for Concern?

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania had a promising box office start. In fact, with a $106.1 million opening weekend, it was the best opener in the entire Ant-Man franchise. But then – it all came crashing down.

First came the bad – or, at best, mediocre – reviews. Then came the Rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes, the second Rotten score in MCU’s history. Naturally, it resulted in less and less interest in the film, and after a strong opening weekend, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania flopped harder than anyone could’ve imagined.

The box office flop was so bad that Ant-Man 3 became the lowest-grossing MCU sequel movie in history. Sure, Ant-Man already was among the lowest-grossing MCU franchises, seeing that he was introduced as a less-known character, but this surely isn’t the start of Phase 5 that Marvel Studios and Disney had hoped for. Is it time for concern? Let’s crunch the numbers.

How much did Ant-Man 3 earn at the box office?

As I’ve mentioned, the opening weekend for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was incredibly promising. It grossed $106.1 million worldwide in that one weekend, becoming the best Ant-Man opener out of all three movies starring the little guy.

When the first Ant-Man movie came out, Marvel was ready for a ‘flop,’ as it was an introduction of a new, less-known character among giants such as Iron Man and the Avengers movies. However, everyone was surprised to see a nice $519 million worldwide box office score, which was viewed as a huge success.

Then came Ant-Man 2, aka Ant-Man and the Wasp – and improved the score even more, with a nice $622.7 million worldwide. Although it was seen as a hit, believe it or not, Ant-Man and the Wasp was the lowest-grossing MCU sequel of all time. But, as it turns out, the third Ant-Man film would take it off its throne – and it’s not even close.

With $474 million worldwide (the numbers might still improve, only ever so slightly), it’s clear that Quantumania is the lowest-grossing MCU sequel of all time and will likely stay there for a while.

Should Marvel & Disney be concerned?

It’s not often that we see an MCU project go under the $500 million mark in box office numbers. Therefore, there’s a reason to be somewhat concerned. Especially when the reviews aren’t that good either, despite the fact that this was the first real introduction of Kang the Conqueror – MCU’s next big baddie – into the MCU. And, of course, the fact that Ant-Man 3 kickstarted Phase 5.

All that said, however, I don’t think it’s time to panic. Concern, surely, but not panic. Ant-Man 3 still at least doubled its budget, which was estimated at around $200 million, and, if we’re being real, it’s not like Ant-Man was a big gun in the MCU box office-wise before.

The downward trend is palpable for MCU projects, which I believe, we can thank the mediocre products like Eternals, Moon Knight, and Ms. Marvel. But there were unexpected bright spots as well – like Shang-Chi, which was such a breath of fresh air in the MCU that I can’t wait to see him back in action.

We’re still waiting on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the new Captain America film, and the second season of Loki – and the new Avengers movies have already been announced. 

Until the heavy hitters start flopping, I think Marvel Studios and Disney shouldn’t concern themselves with numbers too much and just focus on creating awesome stuff we’re used to getting.

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