“Ant Man” Nabs Top Spot at Weekend Box Office

Ant-Man, starring Paul Rudd as a tiny superhero who can control ant behaviour, was easily the No. 1 movie in the United States and Canada, taking in about US$58 million (S$79 million) – Marvel’s 12th consecutive first-place opening. Furthermore, Ant-Man is a far less well-known property to most casual moviegoers (although I suppose the same could have been said of Iron Man and Thor in their day).

Ant-Man’s storyline is definitely part of the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe with the superhero already confirmed to appear in the 2016 Captain America 3: Civil War. I want more films where the hero and the villain have wildly different powers. There are some dramatic beats, and, yes, the entire world is at stake.

Two new movies had solid openings this weekend, though neither was a super-hero at the box office. But where the movie misses is in its lack of focus on its tertiary characters. In order to stop Cross, Lang must wear a suit that shrinks in size, gives him superhuman strength and allows him to control ants. Now he seeks to keep his legacy going on his terms and fix the tears in the relationship with his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly). We actually talked at one point about releasing like a standalone, Hank Pym as Ant-Man. It’s why Guardians of the Galaxy did so well at the box office: Despite its relative unknown leads, it was a character story that took full advantage of its ensemble cast. The contrast between the death-defying scrap on toy train tracks and the impending doom brought on by an approaching Thomas the Tank Engine from the perspective of Ant-Man and Yellowjacket and the way us normal-sized people are seeing it is hilarious.