‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Plummets to $32 Million in Second Weekend at Box Office

thewrap.com:

“Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” in 2016.With a 10-day total of $164 million, “Quantumania” should have enough momentum to cross the $200 million mark at the domestic box office, but with such a steep drop it is now questionable whether the film will have enough fuel against stiff March blockbuster competition to even pass the unadjusted $622 million global box office total of the last “Ant-Man and the Wasp” back in 2018.

While the tepid word-of-mouth was probably the main reason for this drop, “Quantumania” also had strong competition from Universal’s pitch black comedic thriller “Cocaine Bear,” which did better than expected with a $23 million opening from 3,534 theaters after being projected for a $16-20 million launch.That result sits in between the $13 million opening of “Violent Night” and the $30.4 million opening of “M3GAN,” two recent Universal movies that drew in audiences with their absurd, high-concept premises and which ran trailers for “Cocaine Bear” in the past two months.

It’s another victory for comedies at the box office, which aren’t the chart-topping hits that they once were back in the 2000s but, as demonstrated by “Violent Night,” “Ticket to Paradise” and “The Lost City,” can turn a decent profit at the right budget.

With a $35 million production spend before marketing, “Cocaine Bear” should also turn a theatrical profit, though like “Quantumania” it may have a frontloaded run.