Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 exploded into the top spot raking in $114 million during its opening weekend.
The first weekend of May has become the unofficial launch pad for the summer movie season. Last year, the summer kicked off with a $187.4 million debut by Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in the first weekend of May. While Guardians Vol. 3 didn’t quite reach the same numbers, we should take a moment to compare it to its predecessors in the series.
Guardians 3 brought in 78% of the revenue generated by Guardians Vol. 2 in 2017, which was $146.5 when Marvel movies dominated the cinematic landscape. Both Guardians 2 and 3 brought in significantly higher numbers than the original 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy which earned $94.3 during its opening weekend.
While critics gave Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 an 81% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, its lowest rating among the series, loyal Marvel fans have given it a 96% audience score. This third and last installment of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy is the darkest and most gory of all previous Marvel films, and apparently viewers are loving the overall message about animal rights and the horrors of animal testing, which is the main focus of Rocket’s backstory.
In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, our beloved band of misfits are looking a bit different these days. Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team around him to defend the universe along with protecting one of their own. A mission that, if not completed successfully, could quite possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.
Gunn writes and directs Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, featuring Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Will Poulter, and Maria Bakalova.
Kevin Feige is the producer and Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Nikolas Korda, Simon Hatt, and Sara Smith serve as executive producers.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set to retain its top position next weekend since there aren’t any new releases with broad box office appeal. In two weeks, however, Universal’s Fast X will speed into theaters and is almost certain to overtake Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as that weekend’s leading film.
In its fifth weekend, Universal’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie was bumped down to 2nd place, earning $18.6 million and experiencing a 54% drop from the previous weekend. This film has taken the world by storm, shattering expectations with a staggering $518 million in domestic ticket sales over its first 31 days. Just this week, it crossed the $1 billion threshold in global sales, playing a crucial role in delivering the third highest April box office in history, only topped by April 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War and April 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
Warner Bros.’ spine-chilling Evil Dead Rise claimed the #3 spot, earning $5.7 million more during its third weekend—a 53% decrease from the preceding weekend. Seventeen days into its release, this fifth installment of the Evil Dead series has brought in a total of $54 million so far and it’s anticipated to finish with a North American total of around mid-$65 million. Interestingly enough, this year’s chapter is closely following the path of its predecessor, the previous best-performing Evil Dead movie, which earned $54 million in 2013.
Slipping to #4 is Lionsgate’s Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret, which brought in a $3.4 million gross for a weekend total, which was a 50% drop. Catering primarily to female audiences of varying ages who don’t typically flock to theaters on opening weekends, the movie’s initial debut fell below expectations and saw an even greater decline than anticipated in its second week.
Margaret faces stiff competition from upcoming mega-titles that may overshadow it; however, critics and audiences alike have lavished praise on this film with astonishing ratings of 99% fresh with a 96% audience score. With its strong word-of-mouth buzz, hopes remain high that Margaret will remain in theaters at least until Memorial Day so it can achieve its full earnings potential.
Claiming 5th place is Sony’s Love Again, which opened with $2.4 million in just three days. Starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Sam Heughan, and Celine Dion, this romantic comedy follows a grieving woman who sends sentimental texts to her late fiancé’s old number, now belonging to a different man who becomes enamored by her genuine feelings.
Meanwhile, Celine Dion plays a significant role in the film and releases new songs throughout the movie. Unfortunately, critics have been skeptical about the plot, giving it a meager 13% score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, audiences have fallen for the charm, awarding it an astonishing 93% audience score, resulting in the largest disparity (80%) ever seen between critics and viewers.
There are no major surprises in the bottom half of the top ten list. John Wick: Chapter 4 slipped down the list from #5 to #6 in it’s 7th week in theaters. The #7 spot is being held by Paramount’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which is currently also available on premium video on demand in its 6th week in theaters. Air has slipped down the list from #7 to #8 in it’s fifth week in theaters. MGM’s The Covenant is holding on to the #9 spot for the second weekend in a row and Sisu, which opened at #10 last week, has managed to remain in the top ten list in the same spot.
REELated:
1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney) NEW – Cinemascore: A; Metacritic: 65; Est. budget: $250 million
$114,000,000 in 4,450 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $25,618,000; Cumulative: $114,000,000
2. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) Week 5; Last weekend #1
$18,600,000 (-54%) in 3,909 (-295) theaters; PTA: $4,758; Cumulative: $518,128,000
3. Evil Dead Rise (Warner Bros. Discovery) Week 3; Last weekend #2
$5,730,000 (-53%) in 3,036 (-381) theaters; PTA: $1,887; Cumulative: $54,101,000
4. Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret (Lionsgate) Week 2; Last weekend #3
$3,338,000 (-50%) in 3,343 (no change) theaters; PTA: $1,011; Cumulative: $12,647,400
5. Love Again (Sony) NEW; Metacritic: 34; Est. budget: $9 million
$2,425,000 in 2,703 theaters; PTA: $897; Cumulative: $2,425,000
6. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate) Week 7; Last weekend #5
$2,359,000 (-52%) in 1,658 (-823) theaters; PTA: $1,423; Cumulative: $180,056,000
7. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Paramount) Week 6; Last weekend #6; also on PVOD
$1,515,000 (-64%) in 1,751 (-958) theaters; PTA: $865; Cumulative: $90,937,000
8. Air (MGM) Week 5; Last weekend #7
$1,396,000 (-65%) in 1,632 (-770) theaters; PTA: $855; Cumulative: $50,247,000
9. The Covenant (MGM) Week 3; Last weekend #9
$1,222,000 (-66%) in 1,807 (-824) theaters; PTA: $676; Cumulative: $14,780,000
10. Sisu (Lionsgate) Week 2; Last weekend #10
$1,083,000 (67%) in 1,006 (no change) theaters; PTA: $1,077; Cumulative: $5,548,000
