Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania just finished its first weekend at the box office, and the movie has conquered the globe. Rave reviews might have made a small difference to those numbers, but the threequel's performance proves Marvel Studios is darn near critic-proof!
Now that the movie has wrapped up its opening, we have a Rotten Tomatoes score (via ComicBookMovie.com) that's likely to be where it stays.
As we write this, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania sits at 47% based on 306 reviews. That does indeed make it Marvel Studios' most poorly-reviewed movie, tying with Eternals' equally disappointing 48%.
This score seems way too harsh and is in stark contrast to the 84% Audience Score that's based on more than 5000 Verified Ratings. There's clearly a divide here, though it's worth noting that the latest Ant-Man adventure received a "B" CinemaScore which was also what Eternals landed (a record-low score for the MCU at the time).
"Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania mostly lacks the spark of fun that elevated earlier adventures," reads the Critics Consensus, "but Jonathan Majors' Kang is a thrilling villain poised to alter the course of the MCU."
We'd agree with that for the most part and concluded our review by noting, "Despite being an example of why a movie shouldn’t be shot almost entirely in The Volume, every time Jonathan Majors steps on screen as Kang, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is an epic tale to astonish and a monumental chapter in the Multiverse Saga."
It does appear Marvel Studios is taking note of the way critics are responding to its latest movies, with The Marvels delayed and a number of 2023 Disney+ TV shows reportedly pushed into next year.
It's hard not to wonder whether former Disney CEO Bob Chapek pushed for quantity over quality, only for Bob Iger's return to allow Marvel Studios to return to what it does best. We'll see over the course of the Multiverse Saga, anyway.
Do you think this Rotten Tomatoes score is too harsh for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania?