Ant-Man 3 (Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania) looks set to win in theaters next Spring, with available data suggesting a solid audience score.
Projected Audience Score: 83
Related: Del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022) Set To Lead Unique Weekend
Marvel is betting big on Ant-Man 3 and The Wasp: Quantumania after selecting the film for the next MCU heavy, Jonathan Majors, to make his theatrical debut as Kang the Conqueror. Part three of Peyton Reed’s trilogy will send Ant-Man and crew deep into the Quantum Realm, pitting them against Kang following the events of Loki season one.
Marvel released a new trailer for Ant-Man 3 last month, which could give us insight into how the film may do with audiences when it’s released on February 17, 2023. If you haven’t had an opportunity to check out the promo for Quantumania yet, here it is.
How does the trailer score for Ant-Man 3?
Make no mistake about it; the trailer for Ant-Man 3 is fantastic. There’s a nod to Stan Lee in the opening scenes where Rudd lines up a joke, “everywhere I go; I hear the same thing,” to which a butcher quips, “thanks, Spider-Man!” No doubt this line would have belonged to Stan Lee were he still alive.
And then there’s Yellow Brick Road by Elton John, taking viewers through the journey. Brilliant. A coming-of-age adventure is upon us, literally. Ant-Man 3 has a lot to accomplish, and it looks like Disney has offered Marvel the resources to make it happen. At the same time, those are some of the elements of the trailer we’re also concerned about.
Ant-Man 3 introduces our next tween hero
Cassie Lang (Emma Fuhrmann) is set to follow in her father’s footsteps as it was reported that she “acquires a suit similar to her father’s” in Ant-Man 3. This is following the introduction of Ms. Marvel, America Chavez, Hulk’s son, an Eternal that never ages, and Shuri as Black Panther. It’s not a problem, Marvel needs new heroes, but it is a trend nonetheless. And Ant-Man looks like it’s going to follow in its predecessor’s footsteps.
Ultimately, any narrative that doesn’t drive the story forward has the potential to drag it down. It’s too early to determine if that’s the case, of course, but it’s something we considered.
Marvel has mastered the promotional experience
If you browse trailers for new movies, take a look at the “likes” on the video. Great marketers know how to make you press this button. But not all films have enough good footage to close the deal in two minutes. So was the case for Disney’s Strange World, which netted 14 million views but only 50 thousand likes. A click rate of less than half a percent. Not good.
Avatar: The Way of the Water netted nearly a million likes on 40 million views, or around 2.5 percent. Amazing.
Ant-Man 3, on the other hand, raked in the same amount of likes as Avatar, with just 25 million views for an excellent 3.8 percent click rate. But does that speak to the quality of the final film or the marketer’s ability to tell a story in two minutes?
Projected audience score
There are some indications that, despite Marvel delivering a phenomenal and emotional trailer for Ant-Man 3, the final film will be another Phase 4 movie, with Lang’s whole crew on a stage to pass the torch to Cassie.
Jonathan Majors is a big addition to the cast, but given Peyton Reed’s historical scores working with Marvel, and the audience’s reception to the trailer so far, we’ve put the score at 83 with a range of 81 – 85.
What do you think the final audience score for Ant-Man 3 will be?
Related: Thor Love and Thunder (2022): Who is Hercules?