“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania» overcame the box office continent chart China in its opening weekend, with a $19.4 million start. But the much-discussed Marvel movie’s arrival was small compared to its franchise predecessor. And its debut was not enough to revive the Chinese box office market.
The movie arrived in a way that was adequately flagged for marketing purposes. And it opened on a date coordinated with the North American and international debuts. In the context of the Chinese market, the film also had the advantage of landing at a time when Chinese Lunar New Year headlines were waning.
Data from consulting firm Artisan Gateway showed that “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” earned 132 million RMB in local currency (or $19.4 million). That’s less than a third of the $68.2 million the previous ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ earned in China during its August 2018 opening weekend.
Imax reported that the film earned some $4 million, or 21% of its total performance in China on its large format screens.
“Quantumania” edged out “The Wandering Earth 2,” which won RMB81.1 million ($11.9 million) in second place. This fifth-week increase brought “The Wandering Earth 2” to a cumulative total of $565 million, since its January 22 release.
Zhang Yimou’s “Full River Red” finished third over the weekend with a haul of 63.3 million RMB ($9.3 million). It remains the biggest film of the year in China, with a cumulative total of $648 million since January 22.
“Boonie Bears: Guardian Code” held on to fourth place over the weekend with a $5.7 million Friday-Sunday earning of $206 million.
The children’s animation “Deep Blue Sea” grossed $4.8 million for a total of $122 million.
‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ failed to boost the overall Chinese market, the weekend’s total domestic box office fell to $59 million (from $76 million previously when it was released). there were no major new titles). Year to date now stands at $1.98 billion, about 9% higher than at the same point in 2022.