Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania dropped onto Vudu Tuesday as it begins to run its course from a box-office disappointment to an on-demand title before eventually taking its place with the rest of the MCU on Disney+. The question though is, will the Marvel vehicle be the latest title to get a second life via home viewing?
It does not seem to be acknowledged as a trend in Hollywood yet, but it’s becoming obvious to us that many movies that underperformed at the box office seem to do well when they hit digital video formats. It seems, without scientific data, that people are taking flyers on some movies and deciding they are not worth the time and money investments that go along with a night out at the movies. Some films like Top Gun Maverick and Avatar The Way of The Water of course have been screaming successes, but the movie industry truly appears to have changed.
I don’t think it is simply because of streaming. I think it is because of how inexpensive a 4k TV and soundbar are these days. With soundbars and or wireless speaker systems users on many income levels can get a very nice home theater experience set up without much effort or prohibitive costs. Not that the setups could be confused with professional-level dedicated home theaters. But when you can buy a 58-inch 4k TV at Best Buy for 279.00 and have it set up and streaming in your living room in 20 minutes it is easy to decide not to go to the theater. And millions of people already made that jump in the past few years, spurred by the lockdowns that prevented people from going to the movies at all.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was a disappointment at the movie theater, mostly based on expectations set by billion-dollar performances by other movies in the MCU. These days 622 million just isn’t what it used to be. I mean I wouldn’t wish a $622.00 box-office hall on my worst enemy. But if it shows legs at home through views and home rentals it could very well change the narrative around the film.
A day is coming soon when the industry no longer looks at box office performance on its own as the true judge of success for a film. Yes, there will be movies that rake it in because of factors like the scope of the movie or concerns over spoilers. But like TV shows, which have begun to be marketed based on views over time as opposed to time slots alone.
