Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly in Ant-Man and the Wasp

In Theaters This Week (7/6/2018): Ant-Man and the Wasp, The First Purge

The First Purge
Each Thursday we look at what is going to be coming out in theaters this weekend, show you the trailers for the big releases, predict the box office winner and just generally give you enough of a carrot to pull you through the rest of the work week.  This week welcomes the MCU back to theaters for the final time in 2018.
Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly in Ant-Man and the Wasp

MCU Issue #20: Ant-Man and the Wasp rolls into theaters this weekend.  While the first Ant-Man arrived with a lot of question marks, the sequel arrives with the character established and the MCU brand at an all-time high.  The previous 2018 MCU releases are now the third and fourth highest grossing films of all-time in the US.  Ant-Man and the Wasp’s reviews aren’t as stellar as the previous 2018 MCU films, but at 87% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s not exactly doing too shabby itself.  After the pathos of Avengers: Infinity War, a fun movie is exactly what the franchise needs to reset everyone before they dive back into the fray next year.  The film’s only new competition this weekend is The First Purge.  The fourth film in the horror franchise, The First Purge gives the origin story for the annual night of anarchy.  At 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, the reviews are pretty much in-line with the rest of the series.

Ant-Man and the Wasp (Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, PG-13, 1hr 58min)


The First Purge (Marissa Tomei, Steve Harris, R, 1hr 52min)


How Did We Do Last Week? 
KT picked Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom to repeat atop the box office, and the dinos didn’t disappoint (at the box office).  The fifth Jurassic film earned $60.9 million in its second weekend to bring its global total to just under $1 billion dollars.  The Incredibles 2 finished second with $40.1 million in its third weekend to bring its US total to $448 million.  That gives Disney the three highest grossing films of 2018 so far (after Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War)
(2018 Prediction Record: 26-0; Lifetime prediction record 111 – 10).

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

WHO WILL WIN THE WEEKEND?
The MCU has never had a film open that didn’t win its debut weekend.  I’m sure someday that streak will be broken, but it isn’t happening anytime soon.  Ant-Man and the Wasp should displace the dinos and easily win the weekend.
Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly in Ant-Man and the Wasp

7 thoughts on “In Theaters This Week (7/6/2018): Ant-Man and the Wasp, The First Purge”

  1. I’m sure I’ll like it much better than the first one. So far the odds in my book are 18-1. I even like IM3. It was made during the period where the MCU people were still hammering home thier “lighthearted fun” strategy, designed to rope in the whole world. Now that everyone knows exactly what to expect, we’re seeing more shading, and really feeling the bad guys. For example the Ghost will be awesome onscreen.


    The MCU is the closest thing to a sure thing left in Hollywood, now that Pixar is turning into a sequel machine. The next original Pixar film sounds off to me, too, cliched as well as cynically calculated to pull at heartstrings, like they’re consciously trying to top the end of Toy Story 3 or the start of Up.

    I want good SW movies. A new SW movie, at a reasonable distance from the SW movie that came just before, would have made me happy. I am tired of the Hollywood feeding frenzy, of the hype and the focus on money in the press. I am not going to ditch film, but as Elan Sleazebaggano once said, “I want to go home and rethink my life” No more hype for RC. I will go see movies that look interesting, on opening night.


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  2. AM&W better than the first one IMO, but it’s a good thing BP and IW were so awesome, because the entire second act of this sequel is so dramatically inert it’s almost jaw-dropping, and the Ghost might be the worst MCU villain this side of Trevor Slattery. They shifted the character’s sex and gave her a backstory and a clear, personal vendetta against Hank, and she still feels like a wisp of a figure, a petulant millenial. She has no skills of her own. She can ghost because she was in an accident when she was a little girl, and the suit she wears, which allows her to control her power, was simply handed to her. Her other skills were a result of government training. If she does not get what she wants within two days, her molecules will come apart and she will die. That is her entire character.

    The end battle/chase scene is incredible, and the film plays the size game to the hilt, and that is cool. Otherwise, a colossal letdown.


    Sorry, man.

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  3. When I look at myself, I think the time has come to start finding other things to use for killing time. You should start posting reviews of books on your site, and focusing more on older movies. I know there is a certain level of excitement surrounding new films, but I know that I am officially getting burned out.


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    1. I think that came out wrong. I just meant that I am now burned out by new movies, I think you are too, I know the blog is an outlet for you, and maybe a change of format would help.

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      1. The mistakes that were made in the film I saw today… and the way the Ghost was handled is front and center… were so fundamental and egregious that either the filmmakers had no idea what the hell they were doing, or they honestly did not care, but were simply putting out a Disney product to fill up the movie screens during this period of the year. Either scenario disqualifies the movie as a subject of serious film criticism. The fight scenes were awesome, like nothing I have ever seen before. That sums up my opinion. I have loved the MCU up until this point, but this film tested me.

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      2. Who knows though, you might think I’m totally wrong it has been known to happen.


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