Early numbers for Ant-Man and the Wasp's opening night have it topping Guardians of the Galaxy with ease. Marvel Studios' 20th film is officially out in theaters, at least domestically. While the World Cup has split up the overseas roll out, Ant-Man and the Wasp is now making its mark on the box office charts. It's already been a great year for Marvel Studios as both Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War topped $200 million in their opening weekend, but their latest isn't expected to come anywhere close.

The first Ant-Man opened to $57M domestically and projections for the sequel predicted sizable growth. The most recent projections gave Ant-Man and the Wasp's opening weekend between $70M and $80M. While that's a big jump from the first, it'd still be the lowest amongst Phase 3 films, falling just behind Doctor Strange. However, Marvel's two smallest heroes have actually surpassed the sorcerer and beat the studios' space-traveling protectors.

Related: How Much Did Ant-Man & The Wasp Cost to Make?

THR reports Ant-Man and the Wasp made $11.5 million last night during its Thursday night opening previews. This is nearly double of Ant-Man's $6.4M from 2015. When it comes to comparing it to other MCU films though, it easily took down Doctor Strange. The Benedict Cumberbatch solo movie launched to $9.4M in 2016. More impressive though, this just exceeds Guardians of the Galaxy's $11.2M launch from 2014.

Ant-Man and Wasp Easter Eggs

The Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly-led film looks poised to beat expectations based on these numbers. It will have no trouble surpassing the original film's gross in the opening weekend and could launch on par with Guardians if it has similar legs. The first installment of James Gunn's franchise earned $94.3M in its first weekend, which would be a great figure for Ant-Man and The Wasp to match.

Opening night numbers typically reflect the number of hardcore fans who see the film right away, but Ant-Man and the Wasp will need general audiences to catch on to keep up with the aforementioned Marvel flicks. Both Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy launched in less crowded release windows, November and August respectively. Ant-Man and the Wasp still has to compete with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Incredibles 2 at the box office. The good reviews and word of mouth should give the sequel any extra help it may need, so we'll see if that results in a larger opening weekend than previously expected. Judging by these early numbers, Ant-Man and the Wasp has a chance to surprise.

MORE: Ant-Man & The Wasp Cast and Character Guide

Source: THR

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