“Ant-Man and the Wasp” squashed the competition at the domestic box office. The Marvel sequel — starring Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly — opened with $76 million from 4,206 North American locations. That start is significantly ahead of the original “Ant-Man,” which debuted with $57 million in 2015. “Ant-Man and the Wasp” easily topped the weekend, as fellow box office newcomer “The First Purge” scared up $17 million from 3,031 theaters. Meanwhile, “Incredibles 2” narrowly stole the No. 2 spot from “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.” The blockbusters earned $29 million and $28.6 million respectively over the three-day period. Overseas, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” collected $85 million, taking the worldwide opening to $161 million. Across 20 movies, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has brought in $17 billion globally. All 20 titles have opened No. 1 at the box office. Praise seems to be strong for Peyton Reed’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” which holds a promising 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. The acclaimed first film came in slightly lower with an 82% Rotten Tomatoes average. “We are really thrilled about the results,” Cathleen Taff, Disney’s head of domestic distribution, said. “We continue to be amazed by what Kevin Feige and the team do with these films.” Taff also highlighted Lilly as the first female to co-headline a Marvel movie. “Kevin and his team always try to come up with a great story diversity. I think you see that come to play here,” she said. With a production budget around $162 million, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” looks like another win for Marvel. The studio has had a string of box office hits in 2018 with “Avengers: Infinity War” racking up over $2 billion and counting, and “Black Panther” passing $1.3 billion globally. Universal and Blumhouse’s “The First Purge” debuted on Independence Day, getting a head start on the weekend. Its five-day total sits at $31 million, while internationally, the film has gathered $10.9 million. Gerard McMurray directed the $13 million film, which was written and produced by James DeMonaco. Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution, praised DeMonaco and Blumhouse for the strong opening. “The new chapter really taps into the zeitgeist. It’s the fourth in a franchise that they happen to keep very relevant,” he said. “We think we’re going to be great counter-programming for the rest of the summer.” The fourth movie in the series serves as an origin story, starring Y’lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis, Joivan Wade, Luna Lauren Velez, and Marisa Tomei. The most recent iteration was 2016’s “The Purge: Election Year,” which ended its theatrical run with $79 million domestically and $118.5 million worldwide. “The “Purge” movies have pocketed over $360 million globally. Universal and Amblin Entertainment’s “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” recently charged past $1 billion at the worldwide box office. In three weeks, the dinosaur tentpole has earned $333.3 million in North America. Now in its fourth frame, Disney-Pixar’s “Incredibles 2” just hit a major milestone of its own. Everyone’s favorite crime-fighting family has crossed the $500 million mark domestically and $700 million worldwide. It’s the first animated film to surpass $500 million at the North American box office, and the 12th film ever to do so. Internationally, “Incredibles 2” has made $269 million. Also in the top five is Sony’s “Sicario: Day of the Soldado.” The Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin-led sequel picked up another $7.6 million, taking its the domestic tally to $35 million. With $4.2 million overseas, “Soldado” has collected $39.2 million. At the specialty box office, Roadside Attractions and Miramax’s “Whitney” bowed with a promising $1.3 million from 452 locations. The documentary, focusing on the life and career of Whitney Houston, comes on the heels of a number of docs that found their footing at the box office. Kevin Macdonald’s film seems to have resonated with critics and audiences — holding an A CinemaScore and a Rotten Tomatoes average of 90%. Also opening in limited release was Annapurna’s “Sorry to Bother You,” which landed the best per-screen-average of the weekend: $44,881. Boots Riley’s film brought in $717,302 when it opened in 16 theaters. The dystopian comedy stars Lakeith Stanfield, Armie Hammer, Tessa Thompson, Steven Yeun, Danny Glover, Terry Crews, David Cross, Patton Oswalt, and Omari Hardwick. Elsewhere, Focus Features’ “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” landed in the top 10 at the domestic box office again, drawing another $2.6 million when it expanded to 893 locations. In five weeks, the documentary on Fred Rogers has amassed an impressive $12.4 million. Another documentary, Neon’s “Three Identical Strangers” earned $717,008 from 5 locations, bringing its domestic tally past $1 million. The 2018 box office, which just hit $6.5 billion, is up 9% from last year, according to ComScore.<doc-sep>Ant-Man and the Wasp is looking at an opening weekend in the $80 million range for North America beating expectations for the franchise and giving Disney another enviable moneymaker as the summer movie season chugs on. The $80 to $83 million projected isn’t a record-breaking number, but it is more than $20 million over what Ant-Man pulled in its 2015 debut weekend ($57.2 million). Despite being original Avengers (The Wasp named the team, in fact) and among Marvel Comics’ oldest superheroes, The Wasp and Ant-Man have been, in the mainstream, supporting characters for most of their 55-year history. Still, Disney and director Peyton Ree seem to have charmed critics and audiences with the second chapter of the size-shifting super duo. Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer star in supporting roles as the original power couple Henry Pym and Janet van Dyne, with Paul Rudd as Scott Lang and Evangeline Lilly as van Dyne’s daughter, Hope, teaming up to deliver the present-day action. Laurence Fishburne co-stars as Dr. Bill Foster in another fan-service nod to Ant-Man devotees. Ant-Man and the Wasp is graded 87 percent “fresh” (meaning positive reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes and follows February’s Black Panther and May’s Avengers: Infinity War in Disney’s can’t-miss lineup of Marvel superhero movies. In dollar terms, the flick’s weekend is about as strong as May’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, which was graded a disappointment, but that’s because Solo was expected to do a lot more at the box office and Ant-Man and the Wasp is mostly seen as a chaser for the Avengers storyline. We’re still smitten by the big-hearted, tiny-sized action-adventure, calling it the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s funniest flick yet. It’s playing in more than 4,200 theaters nationwide.<doc-sep>Marvel Ant-Man and the Wasp topped the box office in its opening weekend, with Disney announcing Sunday that the Marvel movie is estimated to earn $161 million globally. Of that, $76 million is earned domestically, with Disney noting that the debut is 33 percent higher than the original Ant-Man's $57.2 domestic opening in 2015. Meanwhile Disney's Incredibles 2, estimated by BoxOfficeMojo to be the weekend's second-highest earner, has become the first animated movie to earn $500 million domestically according to this weekend's estimates. The Pixar film is expected to have made $773 million worldwide following its fourth weekend in theaters. Now playing: Watch this: The best and worst things about Ant-Man and the Wasp While Disney is leading the box office this weekend, Universal's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is also seeing dino-sized numbers, having crossed the $1 billion mark in the worldwide box office on Friday. That movie is estimated to have earned $28.5 million in the domestic box office during its third weekend in theaters, with a total of $333 earned so far from the US. The First Purge's debut weekend saw the film come in fourth place during the three-day weekend, with estimated earnings of $31 million domestically and $10 million in international markets since its Wednesday, July 4 release, according to BoxOfficeMojo. Security: Stay up-to-date on the latest in breaches, hacks, fixes and all those cybersecurity issues that keep you up at night. Blockchain Decoded: CNET looks at the tech powering bitcoin -- and soon, too, a myriad services that will change your life.<doc-sep>
Two tiny heroes are making a sizable impression on the box office this weekend. Disney and Marvel’s stature-shifting superhero sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp is on track to debut with about $76 million in ticket sales from 4,206 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, dethroning Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and continuing Marvel’s incredible hot streak. Ant-Man and the Wasp marks the 20th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and each installment has opened at No. 1. While fellow MCU movies Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War both scored historic openings earlier this year, Ant-Man and the Wasp is a smaller-scaled affair that should still keep the mega-franchise’s momentum going. The opening is in line with industry estimates, which ranged from $70 million to $85 million, and it eclipses the original Ant-Man, which bowed to $57.2 million in 2015. Overseas, the sequel will add an estimated $85 million this weekend (from 48 percent of the marketplace). Starring Paul Rudd as Ant-Man/Scott Lang and Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp/Hope van Dyne, Ant-Man and the Wasp finds the heroes trying to rescue Hope’s mother (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) from the quantum realm, while also battling an intangible opponent (Hannah John-Kamen) and dodging the feds. Peyton Reed returned to direct the film, which reportedly cost about $162 million to produce. Critics’ reviews for Ant-Man and the Wasp were generally positive, and audiences gave it an A-minus CinemaScore. The next MCU movie on the calendar is Captain Marvel, starring Brie Larson; it opens March 8. Film Title: The First Purge Credit: Universal This week’s other newcomer, Universal and Blumhouse’s dystopian thriller The First Purge, opened Wednesday (on Independence Day) and is headed for a five-day total of about $31.1 million, in line with expectations. The Friday-Sunday frame accounts for $17.2 million of that amount, good for fourth place. Arriving as the fourth entry in the Purge series, The First Purge is a prequel depicting the origins of an annual night of state-sanctioned lawlessness. Gerard McMurray directed, and Y’Lan Noel stars. Reviews were mixed, and moviegoers gave it a B-minus CinemaScore. Rounding out the top five this weekend are Disney and Pixar’s animated hit Incredibles 2 ($29 million), which is edging out last week’s top earner, Universal’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ($28.6 million), and in fifth place, Sony’s borderland thriller Sicario: Day of the Soldado ($7.3 million). On the specialty front, Roadside Attractions and Miramax’s Whitney Houston documentary Whitney is poised to open with about $1.3 million from 452 locations (a per-theater average of $2,758), and Annapurna Pictures’ outré sci-fi comedy Sorry To Bother You (directed by Boots Riley) is on track to debut with $717,302 from 16 theaters (a per-theater average of $44,831). According to ComScore, overall box office is up 9 percent year-to-date. Check out the July 6-8 figures below. 1. Ant-Man and the Wasp — $76 million 2. Incredibles 2 — $29 million 3. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom — $28.6 million 4. The First Purge — $17.2 million 5. Sicario: Day of the Soldado — $7.3 million 6. Uncle Drew — $6.6 million 7. Ocean’s 8 — $5.3 million 8. Tag — $3.1 million 9. Won’t You Be My Neighbor — $2.6 million 10. Deadpool 2 — $1.7 million