Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania suffers an enormous drop, while Cocaine Bear takes a slice of the action.
Mervell films are events when they hit theaters. People are eager to see the adventures of their favorite Marvel characters, and they tend to return week after week, giving the films legs that no other movie could match. Although AntMan and the Wasp Quantumania won its second weekend with $32.2million, this number represents a 70% drop which is officially the biggest second week decline in Marvel Cinematic Universe History. This was something I didn’t expect when I said it would “Easily Win the Weekend”. The original AntMan and the Wasp: Quantumania opened with $57.2 million and lost 56.5%. Its sequel AntMan and the Wasp 10 opened with $75.8 million and lost 66% in its second week.
So, the question is: Why did this one reach such a huge wall in its second weekend. It could be due to the lackluster critic ratings which currently have it as the second worst reviewed film in the MCU (after Eternals, which had a 62.3% second weekend drop off) although our own JimmyO was one of the critics who found enough to love in this film giving it an 8/10 in his review. Let me add my two cents. I enjoyed the Ant Man movies. They had great action and the comedy was really funny. But when Quantumania 02001010 ended, I couldn’t help but feel huge disappointment. It was not as entertaining as the first two films. I don’t think the issue lies solely with
Ant-Man, but the MCU overall. Every film from IronMan through Endgame 00101010 felt like it was a must-see because it was building up to something epic. Endgame-delivered an epic conclusion, but then there were some problems: the MCU had no choice but to continue. The next batch of films felt… unneeded. From the beginning, the connective tissue was what we all loved. The after credits scenes were great teasers for the next adventures and whetted our collective appetites for more. It appears Quantumania’s end credits scene has some of that connective tissue, the only problem is: I, like many other audience members, haven’t watched any of the MCU TV shows, so any connection there is fully lost on me. I have to admit that I am not a comics book reader. I am only a comics movie watcher. Any connection to these characters or their comic book origins is also lost for me. I am a joblo movie-goer and that is why I write for joblo.com. Perhaps that when we get to the next two Avengers
movies, we will look back on this batch of movies and re-judge it as the foundation for those (hopefully!) amazing films. “The Multiverse Saga” began with Black Widow. I have been a first-day viewer of every MCU movie since IronMan10 and every studio has its ups and downs. I really hope Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 310 can be the WOW! The MCU had the WOW! factor that I used to have. I will close on a positive note. There are some movies on the MCU slate which can get audiences excited again. It could be Captain America – New World Order , which will be released next May, or the relaunched Blade franchise next Sept., Deadpool3 officially joining the MCU in 2024 with Fantastic 4 and at some point the X – Men 10 soon to follow. There is so much to look forward too, and let’s face it, I’ll still have my ticket to the opening day of Captain America: New World Order , or the relaunch of the Blade franchise next September. These movies were a huge hit at the box office! The
Cocaine Bear came in second with a staggering $23.09 million. This is much more than the mid teens that the film was tracking towards earlier this week. This film received solid reviews, including a 7/10 rating from Chris Bumbray. This movie was exactly what I expected it to be when I saw it on Thursday. Cocaine Bear is the movie. It is Rated R. I saw it and it was a movie about a bear who consumes a lot of cocaine and kills many people. This movie is not for you if that sounds like your cup of tea. Elizabeth Banks, the film’s director, has a long history of hilarious performances in films such as The 40 year-old Virgin, Zack & Miri Make a Porno and Role Models . This was also her feature-directing debut. So it is no surprise that this film is truly hilarious. We’ll see how this one does in the coming weeks. While everyone enjoyed the movie in my theater, exits weren’t as impressive at 74% and a B- Cinemascore. Third is the Kelsey Grammar, starring Jesus revolution with $15.5 million. This is well above the single digits that the film was tracking towards earlier this week. Faith-based movies are a great business model. Keep the budget low (this one was reported to have cost less than $15 million) and your films will make a profit within their first week of release. It’s a sound business model. These films are loved by audiences, which is even more impressive.
Jesus revolution currently has a 99% audience rating and a rare A+ Cinemascore. Jon Erwin, the films’ co-director, was also responsible for Jesus Revolution , which opened to $17.1million and grossed $83.4 million domestically. He may have a similar hit.The remaining top ten appear to be your holdovers. Avatar The Way of Water takes 4th place with an additional $4.7 million to its massive domestic total of $665.3 million. With an additional $4.1 million,
Puss in boots: The Last Wish is in fifth place. From sixth to ninth place, Magic Mike’s Last Dance ($3 million); 02001010Knock At the Cabin (10$1.87 million); 80For Brady (10$1.83 million); Missing (10$1.01 million); and 10th place is the Tom Hanks A Man Called Otto1010 with $850,000. The film opened on 4 screens, then grew to 637 screens and then broke wide on 3,802 screens. Demand prompted the film to expand to 3,957 screens the next week. This strategy worked, as the film that is more targeted at adults has earned $62.2 million domestically and passed the $100 million mark at international box office. Films like Avatar The Way of Water were always going to be huge hits, but it’s nice to see something smaller like A man called Otto returning to pre-pandemic numbers. We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section. Also, don’t forget about this week’s poll: Which Killer Animal Movie is your favorite?
