Marvel's big cinema disappointment Ant-Man 3 was much more expensive than originally thought

Only two numbers about Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania are necessary to understand why the word is often used in connection with the first film of Phase 5 of the MCU disappointment falls:

On Rotten Tomatoes it's just enough for one Critic score of 46 percentmaking Quantumania the worst-rated MCU film on the platform.

In the end it was only good enough at the box office Box office results from totaled $476 million.

An astronomically high sum for average consumers, but disappointing for blockbusters like Marvel films. As a rule of thumb, a film needs to gross about two and a half times its budget to ultimately be profitable. After all, in addition to the actual costs, a lot of money is also spent on marketing.

The documents from a British authority now reveal what a financial flop Ant-Man 3 really was for Disney and Marvel.

Almost as expensive as Avengers: Endgame

Proud $326 million – that's how expensive Quantumania was in the end. A large part of these expenses (131.9 million US dollars) are attributable to post-production alone, including the CGI effects with which the eponymous quantum level was brought to life in the film.

For comparison: Avengers: Endgame had a budget of $356 million – but also grossed over $2 billion. That's just a little cheaper Quantumania, on the other hand, is likely to be tens of millions below the profit zone.

Even the MCU hope Deadpool & Wolverine, which will soon be released in cinemas, is said to have a budget of only 250 million US dollars, although these figures are still unconfirmed.

2:38

Deadpool & Wolverine: In the new trailer, Hugh Jackman can finally show his claws again

Where do the numbers come from?

Went so far Estimates always assumed a budget of around $200 million for the third Ant-Man. The real costs are therefore steep 63.3 percent higher.

The source for the new figures is the renowned business magazine Forbes. There you have access to the British documents Audio-Visual Expenditure Credits obtained, a government program to support the domestic film industry.

The purpose is to provide British film productions with a certain number of requirements Tax relief to grant. In the course of this process, the exact costs for the films must also be disclosed, which Disney and Co. would otherwise like to conceal in their balance sheets.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was largely filmed in England, specifically at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. There are already countless other films including the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

A technical specialty of Pinewood Studios is The Volume, the gigantic LED environment that is considered a modern alternative to classic green screens. TV series like The Mandalorian also use the powerful tool to show the actors on set the foreign environments directly, which is supposed to benefit their acting.

Here you can see The Volume in action working on The Mandalorian. Image source: Disney / Lucasfilm

Despite these advanced technologies, the visual effects were also one of the most criticized aspects of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Too often the viewer can see with the naked eye that Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and his family are standing in front of a big screen.

In the end, Marvel actually received a tax refund of an impressive $50.6 million for the filming in England, which ultimately pushes the final expenditure to a still hefty $276 million. Quantumania was certainly not a plus business.

1x Ant-Man 3 or would you rather…?

Finally, a few comparisons with other film blockbusters to put the costs of Ant-Man 3 even more in perspective: The magnificent Mad Max: Fury Road (budget: 150 million), whose sequel Furiosa will soon be in cinemas.

Or straight away twenty-three times Everything Everywhere All at Oncebecause the multiple Oscar-winning multiverse spectacle was only awarded despite excellent CGI effects just over $14 million realized. You have to let that sink in, right?

Disney itself claims to have now recognized that it has offered the audience too much in terms of quantity and too little in terms of quality when it comes to Marvel films and series in recent years. That's why the media giant is planning a major change and would like to concentrate on fewer projects in the future, but publish them with better quality.

Deadpool & Wolverine is scheduled to show the first fruits of these efforts from July 24, 2024. After that, things won't continue until February 14, 2025 with the postponed Captain America: Brave New World. The Fantastic Four's next run will also start in cinemas next year.