‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ buzzes to $76 million debut

NEW YORK — Despite its heroes’ diminutive size, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” opened with typical Marvel might at the box office, with an estimated $76 million in ticket sales.

According to studio estimates Sunday, the “Ant-Man” sequel easily surpassed the $57 million debut of the 2015 original in North America. The 20th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – and the 20th to debut no. 1 at the box office – “Ant-Man and the Wasp” comes on the heels of two mammoth Marvel successes this year: “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Infinity War.”

While the first “Ant-Man,” starring Paul Rudd, had a rocky road to release due to a late director change, the rollout of the sequel, directed by Peyton Reed, was smoother.

“Ant-Man and the Wasp,” with a reported production budget of about $160 million, may have performed well enough to firmly establish its place among Marvel’s more main-line superheroes. Reviews were good (86 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences gave it an A-minus CinemaScore. Ticket sales overseas added another $85 million.

Befitting the summer season, the weekend’s top five films were all sequels. The weekend’s other new wide release was Blumhouse Productions’ “The First Purge,” the fourth film in the low-budget horror franchise about an annual 12-hour period of lawlessness. With July 4th falling on a Wednesday and thus depriving Hollywood of a holiday weekend, Universal opted to release “The First Purge” on Wednesday, while “Ant-Man” waited for the customary Thursday night previews.

“The First Purge” debuted with $32 million over the five-day frame, and $18.5 million for the weekend.

The films that trailed “Ant-Man” hit their own milestones. Disney’s “Incredibles 2” passed “Finding Dory” to become Pixar’s top-grossing film domestically, not accounting for inflation. It earned $29 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic total to $504 million and its worldwide haul to $773 million.

With $28.6 million in its third weekend, Universal’s “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” crossed $1 billion worldwide. It’s done especially well internationally, which has made up 69 percent of the dinosaur sequel’s global footprint.

As a clear alternative to the multiplex offerings, the “Mister Rogers” documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” continued to perform as an art-house sensation. Ranking ninth for the weekend (in between “Tag” and “Deadpool 2”), the Focus Features release earned $2.6 million in 893 theaters over the weekend. With $12.4 million in five weeks, it’s the year’s top documentary at the box office, edging out the Ruth Bader Ginsburg doc “RBG.”