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| Ant-Man (2015) – Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) |
Ant-Man
is a film about a little superhero but it’s a huge win for Marvel. As
of yesterday, Ant-Man has grossed $58 million in North America and
$56.4 million in other territories, for a total of $114.4 million
world-wide. That’s good for a movie, but small for a Marvel film. But
while Ant-Man didn’t set any box office records it’s been a huge win
for Marvel and all the gambles paid off. Here’s why.
1) It’s a Big Opening for an “Obscure” Character
They’ve done movies about little-known characters to the general public
like Iron Man. But executives at Disney, Marvel’s parent company,
called Ant-Man “an obscure character.” That means the marketing team
didn’t just have to sell the public on seeing Ant-Man in a movie. They
had to sell the superhero too. Of course, Hank Pym and Ant-Man
have been featured in various animated movies recently, but Scott Lang
isn’t a household name. Some better known characters had similar
openings in their first solo film. Captain America: The First Avenger opened to $65.05M and Thor
opened to $65.7M. Both movies launched successful franchises. It’s the
biggest opening for an obscure superhero, which opens the door for
other “obscure” heroes like Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel.
2) Ant-Man Never Showed Up At Comic-Con
For the last few years Marvel has had a big presence at San Diego Comic
Con. In fact, it was back in 2012 that they showcased test footage of
Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man and it knocked audiences out. Disney and Marvel
have made big pushes for their films at SDCC and its part of the
success of Guardians of the Galaxy.
But they decided to skip Comic Con this year which meant there was no
boost of awareness for Ant-Man. It could have doomed the film to
failure, but the movie still had a big opening weekend.
3) It Proves Smaller Budgets Work
Ant-Man cost a measly $150 million to make, so it doesn’t have to make $2 billion to win the box office. The Avengers cost
over $220 million to make, so this film is a bargain for Marvel. It
proves not every Marvel film needs more than the GDP of the Unites
States to turn a profit.
4) It’s a Huge Family Film for Marvel
A lot of Marvel movies are mocked for being light, but they’ve gotten darker. Movies like Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier have taken the movies down a darker path and shows like Daredevil have completely thrown aside the family market. Ant-Man
has a lighter tone, and is intended to bring in younger audiences.
Disney distribution chief Dave Hollis said, “We were able to
successfully launch a new character and to do so in a way that expands
the audience of who is coming to see our movies. In the long run,
that’s of overwhelming value.” The fact that Marvel is able to compete
against big family movies like Minions
makes it a very valuable film. Families made up 22% of the opening
weekend crowd for the “Avengers” sequel and 26% of ticket buyers for
the “Guardians” film. Ant-Man captured 28% which is huge.
5) One More Number One Opening
Marvel’s had a streak of films opening in it’s opening weekend and Ant
Man makes it their 12th consecutive win. No other studio can boast
those kinds of numbers and considering everything that was against it
this is a huge win for marvel.
6) Ant-Man is Opening International Markets
This movie had a huge opening abroad as well. International markets are
getting more important every day and this movie opened up some new
markets for Marvel. This was the biggest Marvel film in Hong Kong,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
It’s bigger than Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. In Asia, it’s out pacing Guardians Of The Galaxy.
What do you think of Ant-Man’s opening weekend. Is it a win for Marvel?
About the Author: Maurice Mitchell
I’m an avid science fiction fan, former professional graphic designer and
certified blerd.
After the death of my Star Wars
action figures I use my powers for good
and not for evil.
Visit my concept art blog: http://filmsketchr.blogspot.com
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<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="32819 ">18 Comments
Considering the size of the superhero (no pun intended) I'd say it was a big win. Word of mouth will keep the money coming in. I thought the movie was great and very funny. My third favorite of the year so far.
I agree with the family friendly aspect. I am going to see it with my son latter today.
Its cool they are catering to the family, and younger crowd. Missing Comicon was not a good move for Marvel.
Missing Comic-Con was Disney's idea since they have their own thing going on but it was pretty shortsighted.
Everyone says they're planning to watch it next week so the movie's not over yet!
Awesome David! Let us know how it is!
Just got back and it was good. Definitely a heist movie more than a superhero one. Not that that is a bad thing. 😉
Those are great numbers. I saw something else at the theater today, but I plan on seeing this.
Yeah plus Marvel did pretty well with their private show, so it kinda makes sense.
If they'd gone to Comic-Con it would easily have hit $100 million
Awesome David and a real change of pace for the company
Check it out Medeia! There are some other good movies out right now.
I think it's great for the youngsters good movies to spend the summer enjoying. I'll see it when my son brings it home, but I'm glad it's doing well. If Alex enjoyed it I know it's a good one!
I didn't realize Captain America and Thor had such small openings. What did the first Iron Man do?
Ant Man was a really fun movie.
It's great that they made it more family-friendly. Although my kids are older, we don't always want to see the darker fare out there. I'm hoping to see it this week.
I saw it yesterday with my girlfriend, and I gotta say, it was better than I expected. Definitely looking forward to seeing it again when it comes out on DVD and Blu-ray. Here's a link to my review: http://www.michaelabayomi.com/2015/07/ant-man-movie-review.html
I've been wondering about this one b/c I remember when 'Superman Returns' had a similar opening and was considered to be a flop.
Iron Man had a pretty amazing weekend at $100.8 million. I guess even back then they knew.