2018 has been a banner year for Marvel Studios; not only is it celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the most successful movie franchise in history, but the studio has also amassed a $4 billion global box office haul for the year thanks to the success of Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp.
The latter pushed its global takings to $610.2 million this past weekend, which – combined with Black Panther’s $1.347 billion and Infinity War’s $2.046 billion – means that Marvel Studios has grossed $4.003 billion from three movies in 2018.
To put that into perspective, that’s more than the entire DC Extended Universe so far ($3.759 billion from five movies), and there’s only twelve franchises ever that have pulled in more than $4 billion from all of their instalments combined.
The MCU can expect another bumper year in 2019, with Captain Marvel, Avengers 4 and Spider-Man: Far From Home sure to do big business, as well as taking the franchise well beyond the $20 billion mark at the global box office overall (it currently sits on $17.515 billion, enjoying a huge lead over its nearest rival Star Wars on $9.3 billion).
From the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes Ant-Man and The Wasp, a new chapter featuring heroes with the astonishing ability to shrink. In the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, Scott Lang grapples with the consequences of his choices as both a super hero and a father. As he struggles to rebalance his life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he’s confronted by Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym with an urgent new mission. Scott must once again put on the suit and learn to fight alongside the Wasp as the team works together to uncover secrets from the past.
Ant-Man and the Wasp sees Peyton Reed returning to the director’s chair and stars Paul Rudd (Scott Lang), Evangeline Lilly (Hope Van Dyne), Michael Douglas (Hank Pym), Michael Pena (Luis), David Dastmalchian (Kurt), Abby Ryder Fortson (Cassie Lang), Judy Greer (Maggie), Bobby Cannavale (Paxton) and T.I. (Dave), while new additions to the cast include Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne, Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Bill Foster/Goliath, Hannah John-Kamen as The Ghost, Walton Goggins as Sonny Burch and Randall Park as Jimmy Woo.
