‘Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania’ Thursday Previews Near ’Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2′ – Early Read Box Office

Angelique Jackson When “Creed III” punched its way to the top of the box office over the weekend with a massive $58.7 million domestic haul, it knocked out a host of records. Directed, produced by and starring Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed, the MGM movie notched a franchise-best opening and the biggest domestic opening for a sports movie. With an additional $41.1 million Internationally, the film has already totaled more than $100 million worldwide. “Creed III” is also expected to become MGM’s first non-“Bond” film to gross $100 million domestically since the hit 2019 animated movie “The Addams Family.” There were other impressive stats, including the film’s “A-“ CinemaScore and ticket buyers reported to be 63% male, with 55% between the ages of 18 and 34. The statistics also illustrated a racially diverse audience where 36% were Black, 28% were Latino, 23% were white, and 13% were Asian, according to PostTrak data. The film, which Jordan shot with Imax cameras, also posted an impressive turnout on premium large format screens, with a huge 38% of the box office coming from those ticket sales.

EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate’s John Wick: Chapter 4 arrived on tracking today with a robust projection between $60M-$70M in what would rep the highest opening stateside for the Keanu Reeves R-rated franchise. It’s another solid opening in what is a back-to-back tentpole programmed spring.

The Mandalorian has finally returned to screens, taking fans on more adventures through the Star Wars universe. The hit Disney+ series – created by filmmaker John Favreau – follows lone bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) as he becomes the adoptive father figure of a little green critter called Grogu – AKA Baby Yoda.

Refresh for latest…: Coming out of its second weekend, Disney/Marvel’s Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania has grossed $363.6M globally. Of that, $167.3M is from domestic and $196.3M from the international box office.

NOTE: Spoilers are included.It helps to have a little shorthand with multiverse storytelling and a sci-fi comedy background. They [“Rick and Morty” producers] just hire sharp writers. They really put you through your paces of story structure.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot points, including the ending, of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” currently playing in theaters. One day in early 2020, Jeff Loveness got a call from his agent telling him to go to the Marvel Studios offices in Burbank by 3 p.m. that day, with no further information. It wasn’t until he walked into the meeting room and saw director Peyton Reed — who’d helmed Marvel’s “Ant-Man” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp” — that Loveness understood that he was there to talk about a third movie starring Paul Rudd’s incredible shrinking superhero. But then Loveness was asked a surprising question: “Do you have a take on Kang the Conqueror?”

WARNING: MAJOR spoilers ahead for “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”Kang the Conqueror made his official debut in the MCU with “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” but, as it turns out, it might’ve been a one-and-done situation — at least for that variant. Then again, Marvel fans have come to know the “no body, no certainty” rule at this point, so it’s hard not to wonder if he’s actually gone.

is not only the third in a trilogy of movies from director Peyton Reed but it also officially kicks off Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film starring Paul Rudd as Scott Lang formally introduces Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror and the film franchise's new big bad after he first made a surprise appearance in the season 1 finale of . Kang's presence is expected to be a major presence in the remaining projects of both Phase Five and Phase Six, with presumably being one of the final chapters in that saga.

Paul Rudd is recalling his time on Friends and reflecting on how he felt being on the hit sitcom thinking that he shouldn’t be there.

Despite receiving some of the worst reviews of any Marvel Studios film, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” has become just the third film to earn a $100 million-plus opening in February with estimates projecting a $104 million 3-day launch from 4,345 theaters. That total is 37% higher than the $75.8 million opening earned by the last “Ant-Man and the Wasp” in July 2018 and is the ninth $100 million-plus opening since theaters reopened in spring 2021.

which The Post called “a pile of dirt,” took home a staggering $63.5 million, according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.It scored as the third-highest opening day in February after “Black Panther” and “Deadpool,” as per Deadline.“Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” the final installment of the Channing Tatum stripper series, undressed its way to second place, with a $1.66 million-dollar take.Released on Feb. 9, the comedy-drama is “so long and repetitive that you would gladly tip the guys to stop and put some pants on,” said The Post.“Avatar: The Way of Water” remained in third, earning close to $1.36 million.

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Marvel Universe is expanding!With “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” the interlocking series of superhero movies enters Phase 5, a new era of potentially confusing continuity and even more material that you’ll have to consume to appreciate the full story. But if you don’t have all the time in the world to revisit every Marvel Studios superhero entry since the movies began, in earnest, in 2008, what can you skim to get you ready for “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania?”Consider this the Cliff’s Notes version of MCU history that you can cram in the days leading up to “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” an adventure that sees Ant-Man (once again played by Paul Rudd) and the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) get sucked into the Quantum Realm – a pocket universe where the Wasp’s mother (Michelle Pfeiffer) was trapped for decades.

Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” has earned $17.5 million in previews at the domestic box office. Internationally, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” has opened in more than 40 international markets, earning an estimated $23.8 million in its first two days of release. The superhero sequel is currently playing in such major territories as Mexico, South Korea, Germany, Brazil, and Australia. It debuts in China on Friday. Paul Rudd’s latest Marvel adventure is expected to bring in $95 million to $100 million domestically in its opening weekend. With the Presidents’ Day holiday on Monday, that figure could grow to $110 million. It’s a smaller haul than previous Marvel openings, such as “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” ($185 million), “Thor: Love and Thunder” ($144 million) and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” ($181 million), but the “Ant-Man” movies, like his name suggests, have pulled smaller box-office receipts than his Avengers teammates.

The stars of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania are taking over London!

Fans checking out Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in theaters this weekend might be surprised to see that franchise star Michael Pena is not in the movie.

It’s a wonder that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (★★★☆☆) should work as well as it does, or feel half as transporting as it does, when, by the looks of it, the actors were planted inside a studio for the majority of the action, and it shows. For the size-shifting superhero’s third solo MCU outing, director Peyton Reed — also at the helm for Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp — filmed much of this journey to the sub-atomic fantasia known as the Quantum Realm using technology that surrounds the actors in an immersive digital environment. Rather than emoting towards blank green and blue screens, Paul Rudd, as thief-turned-Avenger Ant-Man a.k.a. Scott Lang, can gaze across a virtual Quantum Realm and perform face-to-face opposite whatever outlandish creatures the filmmakers might imagine.

Hannah John-Kamen's Ghost is not a character that appears in, director Peyton Reed couldn't be more excited that he'll get to see her in the MCU again soon.The character, whose real name is Ava Starr, was introduced as the antagonist of 2018's, which Reed also directed. Ultimately, it was revealed near the end of the film that she wasn't really a villain at all -- Ava had a painful condition that made her molecularly unstable and her battles with Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) were merely just her efforts to stay alive.John-Kamen is set to reprise the character in Marvel's upcoming, which will team her up with Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Wyatt Russell as John Walker/U.S. Agent and Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster. «I love it,» Reed said of the casting.

Evangeline Lilly stole the spotlight at the U.K. premiere of On Thursday, the 43-year-old actress was all smiles as she hit the red carpet at BFI IMAX Waterloo in London, England, wearing a fun silver sequin gown with plenty of tassels. The look was a perfect match for her gray hair and new buzz cut.At the premiere, Lilly twirled her tassel-adorned dress for photographers and posed with her  co-stars -- including Paul Rudd, Jonathan Majors, Michael Douglas and Kathryn Newton -- as well as the film's director, Peyton Reed. Lilly seemed to first show off her new buzz cut earlier this week on Instagram.

2022 was sort of a mixed bag for the MCU. On the one hand, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” were two of the year’s biggest box office hits.