Marvel's financial gamble: Ant‑Man sequel's soaring costs

Despite occasional setbacks, Marvel movies with large budgets usually generate significant profits. One of the latest additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has become almost the studio's most expensive project, surpassing even such blockbusters as both parts of "Avengers" and James Cameron's "Avatar: The Way of Water".

The development of the Marvel universe has been organised into phases. Phase V began with the movie "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania", released in theatres in February 2023. It was intended to mark a new chapter for the studio and introduce a fresh villain, Kang. However, this plan was undermined when Jonathan Majors, the Kang actor, encountered legal issues. Although he was ultimately not convicted, he was found guilty of assaulting his former girlfriend, casting a shadow over his once-promising Hollywood career.

The aforementioned film, in which Ant-Man and the Wasp, Hank Pym, Janet Van Dyne, and Cassie Lang delve into the Quantum Realm, did not win over critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, only 46 percent of over 400 reviews are positive. The audience response was more favourable, with 82 percent finding the film noteworthy. Despite this, the movie didn’t achieve remarkable success. Earning over £360 million could have been impressive were it not dwarfed by the film's production costs.

This revelation is a surprise, mainly because the production took place in the UK, which has different regulations from the United States, including no requirement to disclose film budgets. Forbes gained access to data from the government entity Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit, which shed light on the expenditures.

The "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" budget exceeded over £100 million for post-production alone. The third instalment in the Ant-Man series cost as much as £247 million, marginally more than the Russo brothers' "Avengers: Infinity War", which yielded profits of over £1.5 billion. It's also comparable to "Avengers: Endgame" (which cost £269 million and made nearly £2.1 billion in profit) and "Avatar: The Way of Water" (costing £265 million and bringing in £1.7 billion in revenue). With a "Quantumania" budget of around £360 million, Marvel might have lost as much as £29 million on this production.

Another Marvel project, "Madame Web," directed by C.J. Clarkson, also floundered. Neither general audiences (57 percent on Rotten Tomatoes) nor critics (a dismal 12 percent) were impressed. Even the inclusion of stars such as Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney couldn't salvage the film. Produced for £60 million, it garnered just £76 million in profit. There may be a chance for a comeback with the highly anticipated release of "Deadpool & Wolverine" by Shawn Levy, with trailers already generating significant buzz.