Ant-Man 3 Receives Worst Audience Score In MCU History

By Richard Nebens Updated:
Ant-Man 3 quantumania, avengers

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has gotten off to a rough start, reaching a low for the Marvel Cinematic Universe in terms of audience score.

Marvel Studios has high hopes for Ant-Man 3 to be the next big step in the MCU's Multiverse Saga, especially with it pitting Team Ant-Man against Kang the Conqueror. But while the stakes seem higher in this movie than in any previous Ant-Man film to date, the threequel hasn’t gotten off to a great start in terms of fan reception.

Coming with lofty expectations as the first movie in Phase 5, some fans and critics have already shared disappointment in the film.

Things have even gotten so bad that it started off in a tie for the worst Tomatometer score from Rotten Tomatoes in MCU history, which has since dropped even lower in the following days.

Ant-Man 3 Ties for Worst Rank with MCU Audiences

Ant-Man and Cassie Lang in Quantumania
Marvel

Upon its debut, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania tied for the worst audience score rating from CinemaScore in Marvel Studios' history with a "B".

This makes Ant-Man 3 only the second movie in the MCU to receive a score this low, the first being Eternals after its arrival in November 2021.

The full list of CinemaScore audience ratings from the MCU's 31 movies can be seen below:

  • Iron Man: A
  • The Incredible Hulk: A-
  • Iron Man 2: A
  • Thor: B+
  • Captain America: The First Avenger: A-
  • The Avengers: A+
  • Iron Man 3: A
  • Thor: The Dark World: A-
  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier: A
  • Guardians of the Galaxy: A
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron: A
  • Ant-Man: A
  • Captain America: Civil War: A
  • Doctor Strange: A
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: A
  • Spider-Man: Homecoming: A
  • Thor: Ragnarok: A
  • Black Panther: A+
  • Avengers: Infinity War: A
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: A-
  • Captain Marvel: A
  • Avengers: Endgame: A+
  • Spider-Man: Far From Home: A
  • Black Widow: A-
  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: A
  • Eternals: B
  • Spider-Man: No Way Home: A+
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: B+
  • Thor: Love and Thunder: B+
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: A
  • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania: B

CinemaScore's audience score rating is a calculated average of ratings given by moviegoers as they walk out of the theaters. This means that the score is solely based on initial reactions from the general public immediately following the movie.

Will Negative Reviews Hurt Ant-Man 3’s Success?

Even though Ant-Man 3 is still in the early stages of its theatrical run, it’s been a rough start for the MCU's 31st big-screen release.

Many of the complaints about Ant-Man 3 have been about its use of CGI, which was necessary due to the fact that the Quantum Realm plays such a big part in the story. But on top of that, many expressed disappointment in some of the story details in what was expected to be one of the biggest Multiverse Saga movies to date.

This also comes in the midst of some big changes behind the scenes at Marvel Studios, which recently resulted in the studio pushing the MCU's last movie of the year, The Marvels, from its July release date to November.

As for Ant-Man 3, there's already been a heavy divide between fans and critics who have seen the movie. Many praised it as an exciting addition to the MCU story, while others have had more than their fair share of criticisms about what was missing from the threequel.

Over the coming weeks, viewers will continue to gather their opinions on the movie with Marvel hoping that this CinemaScore doesn't do too much damage to the movie's chances for success.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is now playing in theaters.

Release Date
February 17, 2023
Platform
Theaters
- About The Author: Richard Nebens
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.