Box Office: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Kicks Off Summer Movie Season With $114 Million Debut

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the conclusion to Marvels trilogy about an extraterrestrial crew of misfits, kicked off with $114 million in its domestic box office debut.

Those ticket sales rank as the second-biggest opening weekend of the year, behind The Super Mario Bros. Movie with $146 million. Despite the towering figure, the film ever-so-slightly missed expectations of $120 million and arrived considerably behind its predecessor, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which debuted to $146 million in 2017. Its a jump on the first Guardians of the Galaxy, which introduced the world to Chris Pratts Star Lord and his friends and opened to $94 million in 2014.

At the international box office, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 added $168 million from 52 markets, bringing its global tally to $282 million. In China, which was once a huge territory for Marvel but has been increasingly hostile toward most Hollywood movies, the comic book threequel collected a better-than-expected $28 million to start.

Premium large formats, including Imax and Dolby, accounted for 40% of the films opening weekend ticket sales. Imax alone delivered $10.7 million in North America and $25 million globally. We expect the strong audience response to yield a long, successful run at the box office, says the companys CEO Rich Gelfond.

For Vol. 3, the next few weeks will be crucial as summer movie season kicks into high gear with Fast X on May 19 and The Little Mermaid on May 26. Disneys superhero sequel needs to sustain momentum against those tentpoles to avoid the same ignominious fate as fellow Marvel installment Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which ignited earlier this year to a mighty $106 million before immediately collapsing at the box office. It failed to reach $500 million worldwide, ending that trilogy on a low note and reinforcing the narrative that Disneys Marvel Cinematic Universe is struggling to maintain its luster as an A-list franchise.

Bear in mind, says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. For superheroes, average is in the stratosphere.

Gunn returned to write and direct Vol. 3, which is his final Marvel movie before he takes the reins at rival comic book banner DC Studios. In the past, the Guardians movies have been promising box office performers. The first film ended its theatrical run with $333 million domestically and $773 million globally, while the follow-up tapped out with $389 million domestically and $863 million globally. Heading into the summer, there were predictions that Vol. 3 would break records by the time it leaves theaters, but thats no longer a guarantee. However, the studio is hoping that positive word of mouth, including the films A grade on CinemaScore and 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, prolongs its life in theaters.

Elsewhere at the domestic box office, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ended the four-week box office reign of Universal, Illumination and Nintendos animated The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which slid to second place with $18.6 million from 3,909 theaters. Its the highest-grossing film of the year with $518 million domestically and $1.15 billion globally.

Another newcomer, Sonys romantic comedy Love Again, majorly flopped with $2.4 million from 2,703 venues. The film, starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas and set against a backdrop of Celine Dions discography, earned a B CinemaScore and holds a 13% on Rotten Tomatoes, which doesnt point to a long life in theaters. Luckily, it only cost $9 million to produce.

Love Again landed in fifth place behind holdovers, the horror sequel Evil Dead Rise and literary adaptation Are You There God? Its Me, Margaret.

Evil Dead Rise, a supernatural horror sequel from Warner Bros. and New Line, took third place with $5.7 million from 3,036 theaters in its third weekend of release. Its been a solid box office performer with $54 million in North America and $110 million globally. Making those returns even sweeter, the $15 million-budgeted film was originally intended to release on HBO Max before getting a traditional theatrical release.

At No. 4, Lionsgates adaptation of Judy Blumes seminal novel added $3.38 million in its second weekend of release. Unfortunately for the $30 million-budgeted film, its great reviews didnt translate into ticket sales. Its generated just $12.6 million to date.