Ant-Man 3 Report Reveals MCU Sequel Made Abysmal Profit at Box Office

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania was supposed to be a pivotal launching point for the next chapter of the MCU, as in addition to being the third film in an already successful series it was also introducing the next epic Marvel Universe threat in Kang. Unfortunately the film failed to deliver on those expectations, both in terms of building out the MCU and in financial returns. A new report from Forbes sheds further light on the financial impact of the film though, revealing that it actually made even less than what was initially thought.

The Actual Profit

While pure numbers aren’t always easy to come by regarding studio films, things get a little easier when they film in the UK. That’s because there’s a popular tax credit called the AVEC (Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit), which gives the studio a cash reimbursement of up to 25.5% of they spend there. That means they need to have at least 10% of the production costs relate to activities in the UK, and they have to prove those expenses for the reimbursement process through financial statements.

From those financial statements and details, Forbes broke down just how much Disney was reimbursed for Ant Man and The Wasp Quantumania, and that amount came out to $58.3 million. This brought down the cost of the film from $388.4 million to $330.1 million, but once factored into the final tax and profit analysis, shows that the actual net profit for the film was $88.236 million.

The box office total was a drop from the previous film, as Ant-Man and The Wasp brought in a worldwide box office total of $622,674,139 million, while the original Ant-Man also bested it with a worldwide box office of $519,311,965 million. With this being the third film in the franchise and the much anticipated debut of Kang, it was thought Quantumania would easily blow by both of those totals, but that ultimately wasn’t the case.

[RELATED: Marvel Star Michael Douglas Wanted Hank Pym to Die in Last Ant-Man Movie]

“Absolutely Chaotic”

While reactions weren’t great, there was apparently also some chaos during production according to Jentorra star Kay O’Brian. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, O’Brian joked “That was absolutely chaotic. I think we were getting new pages until the last day, and I think I was getting new fights the last day. I just show up, and they’re like, ‘Here’s a new fight.’”

While things could have been more streamlined and less frantic, O’Brian still enjoyed the experience, especially in regards to the cast. “I thought me being this kind of like newbie, they might, I don’t know, either ignore me or I would just feel out of place, but they just always made it as welcoming as possible. I was surprised by that environment.”

Ant-Man and The Wasp” Quantumania is now streaming on Disney+.

What did you think of Quantumania? You can talk all things Disney and Marvel with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!