Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe delivered some good box office, but in 2022 a trilogy of sequels from the Doctor Strange, Thor and Black Panther franchises all failed to quite reach the potential highs that many hoped. This year Phase 5 will look to rectify that and deliver at least one billion dollar hit as the story ramps up towards Phase 6’s Secret Wars. The first stepping stone is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which hits cinemas on February 17. Opening weekend projections are now in, and the movie looks to be following a Marvel trend for “third” movies.

According to the latest figures from Box Office Pro, the latest and biggest outing for Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang is looking at up to a $131 million domestic opening which would see it following the likes of Thor: Ragnarok, Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: No Way Home as a step up from the previous movies in the Ant-Man franchise. In 2015, Ant-Man opened to the tune of $57.2 million, and Ant-Man and the Wasp debuted with $75.7 million. The lower end of the estimated range for Quantumania is currently sitting on around $85 million, but with the threequel promising so much, including a potentially devastating first true appearance of Jonathan Majors as Kang, there are not many people expecting less than $100 million.
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How Important Is Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania to the MCU’s Future?

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There are no movies in the MCU that are completely stand-alone, but similarly every movie has its own story to tell as well as adding something to the current saga’s arc or hinting at something to come in the future. While Paul Rudd’s first two Ant-Man movies seemed to be pretty much outside the loop of the Infinity Saga at the time, by the time Endgame arrived the importance of the Ant-Man franchise became very apparent.

This time around, Ant-Man’s position in the Multiverse Saga is going to be front and center of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. While the exact plot details of the movie are being saved for the movie’s release, it is clear from the trailers and comments made by director Peyton Reed that this is not going to be a low-level MCU entry and the stakes appear to have never been higher. Reed previously said:

“People felt like, Oh, these are fun little palate cleansers after a gigantic Avengers movie. For this third one, I said, ‘I don’t want to be the palate cleanser anymore. I want to be the big Avengers movie.’”

After the subdued Phase 4 slate, MCU fans are itching for a step-up from Marvel Studios and it seems like, unexpectedly, it is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania that is going to do that. Kevin Feige has previously noted that the movie will have a direct line to Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. While there is a long way to go before those film’s hit cinemas, there are many fans who are going to want to see Quantumania’s story play out on the big screen to see the Multiverse Saga really switch gears.