Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania

  • ‘Ant-Man 3’ Faces Challenging Box Office Debut in Asia Pacific Markets

    ‘Ant-Man 3’ Faces Challenging Box Office Debut in Asia Pacific Markets

    Not all is sunny with the latest release by Marvel Studios, as while it did manage to release in its predicted release window at $104M domestically over three days. The big surprise is a softer release internationally at $121.3M. As of now, the film is 13% ahead of the first Ant-Man internationally but 27% below its sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp. Yet, the big reasoning here is that it had a very soft Chinese opening at 19M, which is quite a bit further away from the predicted $35M to $55M. It seems that it did receive a similar score to that of the first Ant-Man but was lower on another score.

    Rotten Tomatoes soft score didn’t help and if you add in factors like a tired box office after Chinese New Year and a general lack of interest in Hollywood productions, it’s going to be a tough battle for the film in that market. We also can’t forget that Marvel films have been banned since 2019 and it was going to be an uphill battle no matter what was released in that market. Deadline also points out one rather interesting aspect: science-fiction has major troubles in Asia Pacific markets as even Star Wars has trouble establishing itself in these markets.

    South Korea seems to have a similar development with these types of films, which doesn’t help matters much as both were key markets in the last two films’ releases. Still, Australia and European markets are performing ahead of the last two releases and could make up for the softer Asian release, but it does seem unlikely that the film will pass Ant-Man and the Wasp‘s global box office at this rate. It could have a chance at around $550M to $600M depending if that B CinemaScore will not overshadow any potential legs. The drop in the next weekend will give us a clearer picture.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Ant-Man 3’ Dethrones ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ as Third-Highest February Release

    ‘Ant-Man 3’ Dethrones ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ as Third-Highest February Release

    It’s been a nailbiting weekend for the box office, as many were unsure if Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania may actually manage $100M opening. The B cinemaScore and critical reception made it a make or break situation. Now, for any other ffilm this would be a fantastic opening weekend even with an A score, but Marvel has more weight on its shoulders as one of the biggest franchises and money-makers for Disney. Still, the film surprised and pulled in an additional 33.8M over Saturday after a strong $46M Friday (including Thursday previews) and is set to close the weekend with $104M over three days.

    Don’t forget, this is Presidents Day weekend and as such will probably wrap up around $118M. Keep in mind, those numbers can always fluctuate once the weekend wraps up. That would place perfectly in the more positive side of its initial prediction that was between $96M to $131M. So, the film certainly delivered on its box office promise even if the next weekends drop being the true indicator what kind of multiplier we can expect. A more mixed to positive word-of-mouth could still net it a 2.3 multiplier but given the Ant-Man franchise could surprise given how well it worked with children and families. It may have potentially found a niche that could carry the film further.

    It should also be noted that the Saturday hold percentage wise is better than Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (-36%), Thor: Love and Thunder (-40%) but not far from Eternals, who also shares the B rating. Deadline believes the draw of Kang the Conqueror may be balancing out any of the critical reception. The film opened 44% higher than Ant-Man and the Wasp and is now the trilogy’s biggest opener. Interestingly enough was playing evenly throughout the entire day. So, this is perhaps a more balanced experience than the other more frontloaded pictures, but only time will tell.

    Overall, the film also pulled in a strong $121.3M worldwide and now stands at $238.3M worldwide. The film isn’t breaking any records worldwide and had a smaller opening in China with 19.2M but that market also hasn’t had a Marvel movie in quite some time release at the same as internationally. Deadline has pointed out that science-fiction adventures do have that habit internationally. As of now, the film is now the third highest opener in February ever following Black Panther ($242.2M) and Deadpool ($152.2M). It has now dethroned the former third place holder of Fifty Shades of Grey at $93M.

    Even with the current critical and CinemaScore rating, there’s still expectation the film will become the highest Ant-Man entry, which it would manage by passing $622M. To reach though, it’ll need a better multiplier around 2,6 at least, which might be the biggest challenge. A rejuvenated market may help push its legs, as our only real comparison is during last year when fiilms barely had any momentum and multiple weeks of barely any major releases.

    Source: Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety

  • ‘Quantumania’ Post-Credit Scene Explained

    ‘Quantumania’ Post-Credit Scene Explained

    By now, we all know to stay for dessert when it comes to Marvel movies and that usually means one or two credit scenes, in the middle and at the end. We already covered the mid-credit scene for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantummania, which introduces the Council of Kangs and (potentially) 6 Variants of the Conqueror that will play a primary role in other Phase 5 releases. You have a version of Kang that looks like a Skrull, a version of Kang in Red that could be Scarlet Centurion, a version of Kang that could be the new owner of Avengers Towers Mr. Gryphon, and then the big 3 Kangs in Rama Tut, Immortus, and one who may be either Iron Lad or the Silver Centurion. There is one Variant conspicuously absent from the Council, and it’s here we see in the end credit scene. 

    In the post-credit scene, we arrive in a small town for what really looks like an expo of some kind put together by a man named Victor Timely. Victor Timely bears a striking resemblance to Kang The Conqueror, and a bunch of the variants that have descended upon the coliseum in the mid-credits scene, so we have now met ANOTHER Kang Variant. Now, Loki is terrified to see Kang’s Victor Variant, whereas Mobius doesn’t seem to understand the worry. If you look closely around Timely’s stage, you see a very weathered-looking version of the core used to power the Conqueror’s Time Chair in Ant-Man, which begs a lot of questions about exactly how we are going to get to the Kang Dynasty. 

    The MCU was smart to connect the Conqueror to an original Avenger in the Wasp and a new Avenger Ant-Man, as it personalizes the fight ahead. Likewise, having Loki meet He Who Remains and having him be the one to encounter Victor Timely does the same. However, what if Timely’s not here to highlight a connection to Loki, but to Marvel’s first family and the original Iron Man? 

    Timely is an inventor in the MCU, that much we know, and in the comics, he is the inventor responsible for the original Human Torch. If you go back to Captain America: The First Avenger, you see Horton’s Human Torch at the Stark Expo that Howard Stark is putting together.

    Also, introducing Timely now could mean that Howard Stark knew Timely and that Timely befriended Stark because he knew that it was Howard’s son whose technology would one day be needed to stop the other Kangs. Whereas the Conqueror says that he saw that the timeline was broken and he set to correct the mistakes the Council made, Timely may have decided he wanted nothing to do with the Council and just wanted to improve mankind. 

    Or, like in the comics, he’s just hiding and biding his time before he can return to destroy the Avengers. 

  • ‘Ant-Man 3’ Conquers a $46M Friday Opening at the Box Office

    ‘Ant-Man 3’ Conquers a $46M Friday Opening at the Box Office

    The numbers are in and after a very strong $17.5M Thursday preview showing for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it seems the film managed to pull in a strong $46M haul over Friday at the domestic market. As such, there’s a good chance the film will at least pull in $100M over three days at the box office; though the recent B CinemaScore could slow down its momentum. Still, the film is the biggest in the trilogy as Ant-Man opened to $57.2M; the smallest MCU start; and Ant-Man and the Wasp managed to pull in $75.8M. They grew from previews at around $6M and $12M respectively.

    The film is now the third-highest Friday grosser in February and is on track to make around $115M over the four-day weekend. There have been some that believe it could go even higher towards $120M but the current critical reception may make that a bit difficult. 62% of the audience seemingly purchased their tickets in advance or even on the day still makes for a strong opening overall for the film. Audiences seem to give it a 3 1/2 star overall and while it has similar lows like Eternals, this entry has a bit more going for it that could entice audiences long-term.

    Kang’s arrival was the main selling point and that could definitely be something that’ll keep audiences interested to check it out in case they missed anything. Creed 3 is also around the corner starring Jonathan Majors, which may boost the film for those wanting to compare his performances. IMAX made up 43% and is showcasing that the format may become a great way to build more revenue for cinemas. The big test remains on how the film will perform overall at the box office, as it’s unclear if it’ll manage to pull $700M+ with its current rating.

    A $600M run does seem very possible but just how high it goes depends on the drop in the next weekend. The Box office is looking at a lot of competition in the coming weeks but that actually makes for a good thing, as the last few years have been dead at the theaters. So, the more releases there are, the more momentum theater chains get in visitors. Some might come back to check out the Ant-Man threequel and it seems he movie performed very well with families. Perhaps that kind of demographic could make all the difference and push the film towards a 2.3 or even 2.4 multiplier.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline

  • ‘Quantumania’ Mid-Credit Scene Explained

    ‘Quantumania’ Mid-Credit Scene Explained

    Season 1 of Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series Loki made it clear that the future of the MCU was going to be full of Kangs. Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania introduced one of the most menacing Variants of the character in Kang the Conqueror but the savvy fans who stuck around while the credits rolled got more Kang for their buck. Nothing but spoilers to follow…

    The mid-credit scene of Quantumania took a turn for the weird and introduced fans to an arena full of Variants of Kang. As wild as it seems on screen, the idea of a Council of Kangs was ripped right from the pages of Marvel Comics. There have been a few iterations of the Council of Kangs in the comics and this one feels like a bit of an amalgamation of them all in that it is apparently filled with actual Kangs (not fake Kangs) from different timelines throughout the Multiverse. Though it may well be more similar to the Kang Collective in its composition, we’ll keep calling it the Council of Cross-Time Kangs for now and wait for Marvel Studios to give further details. Whatever the name, this horde of Kangs is coming together for a “code red” situation involving one of their own. While the short scene doesn’t really give enough context as to what exactly the body is all about, there are at least a few identifiable Kang Variants in the group who may provide some hints of what to expect over the course of the Multiverse Saga.

    Rama-Tut

    In the comics, the Rama-Tut Variant comes from a reality in which a young Kang uses a time machine to travel back to Ancient Egypt. Shortly after arriving, Kang conquers the people of the time and installs himself as their Pharoah, Rama-Tut. In the MCU, placing a Variant in Ancient Egypt provides potential for a tie-in to the mythology established in Moon Knight. It also opens the door for the Variant to come across a character that Marvel Studios should be eager to work into the MCU sooner rather than later to wash away the horrid depiction of him done by fox: En Sabah Nur. The two have a fascinating history in the comics that involved Nur being enslaved by Rama-Tut and then being shot and left for dead. Of course, Nur is better known as one of Marvel’s most powerful mutants, Apocalypse, so there’s some interesting potential for this story to evolve in the Multiverse Saga.

    Immortus

    Another easily identifiable Variant of Kang is Immortus. The simplest description is that Immortus is a Variant of the Variant known as Rama-Tut. In one timeline, Kang abandoned his station as Rama-Tut, traveled to the 40th century and attempted to master both time and the realm of Limbo. From his place outside time, Immortus attempted to manipulate all timelines and realities so that only his Variant could end up ascending to become…him. Ultimately, Immortus felt he became a tool of the Time Keepers (who were seen in Loki) and another Variant emerged to make sure he didn’t follow that path. While you probably can’t trust a Kang, this Variant of the character is the most manipulative and untrustworthy of them all and is sure to cause a problem for the other members of the Council at some point..

    While there are certainly other Kangs present (A Skrull Kang, one that may be Mr. Gryphon and one that may be Scarlet Centurion), these two are the ones most likely to get up to no good…along with the other Variant of Kang who didn’t join the council and looks primed to appear in Season 2 of Loki.

  • ‘Ant-Man 3’ Joins ‘Eternals’ With Lowest MCU CinemaScore

    ‘Ant-Man 3’ Joins ‘Eternals’ With Lowest MCU CinemaScore

    There’s been quite a discourse online about the quality of the recent Marvel movies. The critical reception of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has reawakened discussion points that have been around since all the way back in Phase 2, as the franchise continues to exist in a cycle of quality discussions. Still, even with a mixed critical reception with 48% on Rotten Tomatoes, the Audience Score is quite a bit more positive with 84% of audiences seemingly enjoying the film.

    Still, the CinemaScore is a classic way to see where the film’s overall word-of-mouth might land and it seems that audiences are also mostly mixed with the very frontloaded scoring. The film has now been the second Marvel Cinematic Universe film to receive a B CinemaScore. Audiences are seemingly a bit mixed on the film but it’s interesting that the second high sci-fi attempt by Marvel Studios ends up with a similar rating.

    https://twitter.com/CinemaScore/status/1626871462463262720

    One thing often overlooked is that the CinemaScore does not mean people hate the film, they just simply thought it was okay; a general sentiment you see online. There’s also always a chance that certain elements in the film just don’t jive with audiences. Horror films generally don’t do better than a B or B+ due to the elements included in the film that define the genre. Not every blockbuster film pulls in an A ranking like the recent Plane also landed at a B+.

    It’s just unusual for Marvel to have this many B ratings throughout the last two years but also not a complete defining trait of the franchise. They’ve been more experimental and that is reflected by these films not always being “crowd pleasers across the board.” The big thing here is if the film will have legs moving forward though even 2022’s B+ films did manage to pull in quite a box office over its run. We’ll have to see though if this B scoring will slowly come to an end as Marvel Studios reshuffles.

    Source: Rotten Tomatoes, Twitter

  • All Roads LED Here: Marvel’s Future with Stagecraft May End

    All Roads LED Here: Marvel’s Future with Stagecraft May End

    If there ever was a piece of technology that went from being “the future” to having the Internet complain about it ruining experiences, it would be Stagecraft. The technology is quite simple, as it makes use of LED screens and pre-rendered elements to give actors something to act from. The Mandalorian popularized it and it became a useful tool during COVID and put Industrial Light & Magic on the map for many productions.

    Cinematographer Greig Fraser has been a strong proponent against the use of greenscreen (but still uses them heavily for some of his biggest projects under new names like “Sand Screens” in Dune) and was one of the first to push the technology forward. He went on to make good use of the Stagecraft in The Batman after pioneering it for The Mandalorian. Still, even that great film couldn’t avoid some people feeling it was a little flat in its design give or take.

    As its use went on, that complaint started to pick up more and more speed. It got to a point where the main criticism was that this technology creates a lifeless experience and truly only creates something that is “too polished.” Not really great for every project already filming at the time as its criticism took centerstage. Marvel went all in with projects potentially making good use of it, Thor: Love and Thunder, the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and the just-released Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

    Marvel is already constantly under a magnifying glass for its use of a green screen and CG over the years. Especially once the pandemic hit, it felt like a free-for-all on what problems one can find and focus primarily on the few times it just wasn’t 100% right. So, the use of a technology that is already at a stage of heavy criticism during a time when filmmaking was at its most difficult was going to face some new challenges.

    Thor: Love and Thunder was the first to release that technology and the criticism of flat backgrounds has returned. Many discussions online were questioning what was the cause: bad lighting or just generally if the technology is too early for the big screen given how limited it is in scope. Its use, however, was highly praised by those working on the projects in how they combined real set pieces with the technology giving them more flexibility.

    It’s a strange fight, as there’s an expectation that “shot on set is always better,” which is definitely the case given its tangibility, but also downplays the value of this technology and its use. We want to move away from greenscreen but also push away any alternatives, especially for projects like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania that explore a completely foreign world. Director Peyton Reed has experience working with the tech and likely was excited to return to its use.

    The film also received similar criticism due to the technology and the usual CG comments that have dominated Marvel discourse for quite some time now. It starts blending together where it’s difficult to truly tell if it’s Stagecraft or the CG that makes it difficult as a topic overall. Though some have also praised the CG and Quantumania‘s very mixed reception creates a difficult point of discourse. Yahoo’s review of the film just called it “almost wholly on green screens” which just completely sidelines the tech while, for example, CNet‘s just generally praises the world created.

    CG is a sour topic and Marvel became quite the focus given its size and popularity. Post-Endgame, there’s also a big “it’s not like it used to be” mentality that has just been pushed forward by the pandemic’s restrictions on the industry. A film like Quantumania also will rely more on CG given that it takes place fully in a non-realistic world and given its design choices, it wanted to be as wacky as possible; something praised and loathed from one review to the next.

    We know that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was initially announced to use the technology; another franchise that makes a lot of use of greenscreens and sets given its space-focused storyline. Yet, James Gunn seemingly decided against its use due to it not being able to bring his vision to life for the final film in his trilogy. So, he would’ve used it if it were fitting for what he was trying to accomplish.

    By all accounts, that would seemingly be the end of its use with this week’s release of Quantumania. Yet, there is one more hint that exists for use on The Marvels. Sadly, it’s just a very unreliable source in the form of IMDb. The upcoming Captain Marvel sequel includes credits for Stagecraft artists Robb Gardner, supervisor Christopher Django Johnston, and more. The only thing is, there’s no real official announcement about the use of the technology.

    So far, we haven’t had any official announcements for future projects and it almost seems like they won’t be focusing their use on the technology moving forward. Select projects like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever did not make use of the tech. So, they aren’t forcing it into every project and there’s definitely a surprising silence on its future use after heavy promotion for Quantumania.

    At this rate, it does seem like they aren’t going to rely too heavily on it anymore. It should also be noted that all productions released this year used the technology in 2021 while COVID was still at a high point. Thor: Love and Thunder was produced in 2020 when it was even unpredictable, which makes the expectation of its necessity higher. Yet, we’re about to enter a very different era for Marvel Studios’ productions.

    It should be noted that non of the 2024 releases have even started filming just yet. In a way, we’re returning to some normalcy and their usual production schedule from before the pandemic moving forward. There hasn’t been a single production in 2022, which is curious and perhaps a showcase of rearranging pieces around the board. Quantumania was originally the ending of Phase 4 and the reception seems to hgihlight that.

    Stagecraft might still get used but we shouldn’t expect any major promotions of its use for future titles. It probably will only be a sparing addition to production if there ever is truly a necessity given whatever the production is working on. Perhaps this year will signal the final “COVID era productions” from Marvel Studios with a potential new future going into the next year. Phase 5 may have not kicked off how some wanted, but it doesn’t mean Marvel is truly over, it may just be getting started once again.

    Source: YouTube, GameRant, IndieWire, DisInsider, Movieweb, IndieWire, Total Film, IMDb, ILM

  • Peyton Reed Addresses the Absence of a Fan Favorite Character in ‘Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania’

    Peyton Reed Addresses the Absence of a Fan Favorite Character in ‘Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania’

    Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania broadens the horizons of the Ant-Man franchise and continues to expand on the Multiverse, now featuring the time-travelling Kang the Conqueror. The movie received mixed reactions from reviewers after the review embargo ended on Tuesday, widely criticising the screenplay but praising Jonathan Majors‘ performance as Kang. It currently stands at a critics score of 51% on Rotten Tomatoes.

    The movie left out some prominent fan-favorite secondary characters, such as Michael Peña’s Luis, Dave, and David Dastmalchian’s Kurt Goreshter. Although Dastmalchain managed to return to the movie’s cast as Veb, as well as composing a song for the movie’s soundtrack titled “Holes”, Luis was a no-show.

    In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Quantumania director Peyton Reed was asked if earlier versions of the movie during the development process ever featured Michael Peña’s Luis.

    Peyton responded to it by saying that “no versions of [the] movie” ever featured Luis. He went on to explain that fitting the Lang, Pym, and Van Dyne families, Kang, MODOK, Krylar, the freedom fighters, and including Luis and co. wouldn’t give them enough space to breathe and grow.

    There were no versions of this movie [with Luis]. There are a lot of characters in the movie. We obviously have our Lang, van Dyne and Pym family, but then we also introduced Kang, MODOK and all of our Freedom Fighter characters. So we had to make decisions early on about what stories we could tell and what stories we couldn’t tell.

    Peyton Reed

    He admitted that Luis, Kurt, and Dave were “really, really, fun” in the previous Ant-Man installments, but because the movie sends the Ant-Fam to the Quantum Realm pretty early on, it “didn’t make sense” to include Luis and the gang in the movie.

    I love those characters. They were really, really fun and part of the Lang family, but as we got further and further into [development] and knew we wanted to bring the family into the Quantum Realm pretty early in the movie, it just didn’t make sense [to include Luis and co.].

    Peyton Reed

    Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania releases exclusively in theaters on February 17, 2023. Read our review of the film here.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ Reaches Pre-Pandemic Super Bowl Records

    ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ Reaches Pre-Pandemic Super Bowl Records

    The Super Bowl has once again arrived and did its usual thing by squeezing a lot of money out of advertisers for the chance of getting the most views they possibly could for their product. Of course, it’s also a big opportunity for studios to showcase some of their upcoming big releases. This year had some of the biggest films of 2023 included such as The Flash, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Fast X, and more.

    In a big and exciting development, it seems that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 finally broke a pre-pandemic record of pulling in more than 100M views within 24 hours after premiering at the Super Bowl. It’s even beaten Marvel Studios’ own Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which pulled a still impressive 93.1M views last year. And that is quite a move considering its also their second released trailer. It’s impressive and a good sign of the summer blockbuster push.

    The Flash wasn’t too far behind, as it managed to pull in an impressive 97.4M, which is also major considering Warner Bros. was more of a sideline during these events. So, they returned with quite a bang but were also closely followed by Fast X’s 94.1M views within 24 hours on Social Media. The latter does also have the added effect that they where the only one of the top three to drop the trailer in advance.

    13 trailers were dropped during the Super Bowl with the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Heineken collaboration also pulling in the fourth highest viewing with 87.9M. It may be facing some critical backlash but interest is definitely there for the film and the collab may have been a clever way to sneak in a second preview for Marvel Studios. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts was a bit further behind with 43.3M, a surprisingly soft starter considering how big its initial trailer drop was.

    Disney’s other major release, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny also were on the smaller side at 34.2M, but it also didn’t really include much new footage in its release outside of a few lines. It’s still some time away and the buzz may not be as big, but it’s still curious to think that the return of Harrison Ford wouldn’t have brought more buzz with it. It’s also not first-party data from studios but measured through RelishMix, which also can vary depending on its data basis. Still, it seems superheroes are still quite attractive going by public viewings.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Ant-Man 3’ Joins ‘Eternals’ With a Rotten Rating

    ‘Ant-Man 3’ Joins ‘Eternals’ With a Rotten Rating

    Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania did not open to considerable fanfare on Rotten Tomatoes with most of the review scores landing it at around 63%. As usual, it tends to go down slowly and as it already was on the border of being a “Rotten” score, it has not passed that limit with 95 reviews to a score of 58%. As such, it’s only the second MCU film to receive this type of rating after Eternals’ ended up with 47% on 406 reviews.

    Is it the end times of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Probably not, and it’s still on course to make quite an opening. There’s also the fact that general moviegoers are analyzed through a separate CinemaScore that could go either way. Eternals had the franchises’ first B score and it’s uncertain if the same will be true for Quantumania. Even the Venom films have a B+ score with a 30% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes critics. Ironically, that film has an 80% audience score, which we won’t see until the end of the weekend for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

    The film’s biggest problems according to critics might play in its favor for those fans just waiting to see the franchise expand again. Phase 4 was known for being a bit more individual with its projects without a proper “endgame” which this film adds to the franchise’s next two phases. So, who knows where it might end up with audiences but it’s hard to say.

    Source: Rotten Tomatoes