Box Office: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Zooms to $37.8M Friday for Likely $92M Debut
UPDATED: The critically acclaimed tentpole nabs an A CinemaScore from moviegoers; James Brown biopic "Get On Up" opens at No. 3 with a $4.9 million Friday.
James Gunn‘sGuardians of the Galaxy topped the Fridaybox office with $37.8 million, putting the quirky superhero movie on course for a $92 million debut and providing a needed respite from the summer box office slump. It’s doing far more business than expected and marksanother sizable victory for Marvel Studios as it launches a new franchise outside of the Avengers series.
The Marvel and Disneytentpole will easily pass the $69.2 million domestic debut ofThe Bourne Ultimatum in 2007 to nab the top August opening of all time, not accounting for inflation.
It’s also set to secure the best showing of the year so far for an original property, as well as opening on par with the likes ofCaptain America: The Winter Soldier ($95 million),Godzilla ($93.2 million),The Amazing Spider-Man2 ($91.6 million) andX-Men: Days of Future Past ($90.8 million).
Heading into the weekend, the Marvel and Disneytentpole was projected to gross $65 million to $70 million in its domestic debut. The film’s over-performance points to stellar word of mouth and its originality. The movie earned stellar reviews and an A CinemaScore from Friday audiences.
Still,Guardians of the Galaxywon’t be able to rescue the ailing summer overall (revenue continues to be down 20 percent).
Featuring a rag-tag group of unlikely galactic heroes,Guardians starsChrisPratt,ZoeSaldana,Dave Bautista,Lee PaceandBradley Cooper, who voices the role of Rocket the raccoon.Vin Diesel,DjimonHounsou,John C. Reilly,Glenn CloseandBenicio del Toro also star.
Hype aroundGuardians has been so high that Marvel and Disney havealready announced plans for a July 28, 2017 sequel, with Gunn returning to direct.
The movie’s tone is much different than the Avengers franchise, and is laced with humor. “It’s much more of a space opera than a superhero movie,” Gunn said in a recent interview withThe Hollywood Reporter.
Guardians is playing in roughly 4,080 theaters in North America, the widest August release ever (G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobraplayed on 4,007).
Overseas,Guardians also did big business as it began rolling out Thursday, nabbing $11 million in a handful of markets, including $3.2 million in Russia and $2.3 million in theU.K.
Guardians wasn’t a cheap proposition and cost $170 million to produce. That doesn’t include Disney and Marvel’s pricey marketing campaign.
This weekend’s other new wide offering isJames BrownbiopicGet On Up, from The Help directorTate Taylor and starring ChadwickBoseman as the legendary godfather of soul.Brian Grazer‘s Imagine Entertainment produced the $30 million film with MickJagger.
Universal is handling the release ofGet On Up, which is expected to open in the $14 million to $15 million range after earning $4.9 million on Friday night. That less than the $26 million debut ofThe Helpin August 2011.
The biopic came in No. 3 afterGuardians and fellow Universal titleLucy, which fell to No. 2 on its second Friday, grossing $5.5 million for a projected $14.7 million weekend, a decline of 58 percent and putting its domestic total at a pleasing $79.6 million.
Paramount and MGM’sHercules continued to lag behindLucy, falling to No. 4 on its second Friday with an estimated $3.2 million. The action epic is expected to gross roughly $11 million for the weekend, a 64 percent decline and putting its domestic total at an estimated $52 million-plus (the movie is faring far better overseas).
Fox’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes rounded out the top five, grossing $2.4 million for a domestic total of $183.1 million.
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