There is nothing like the promise of a chapter closing to draw people to the movie theater, especially when tied to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This weekend, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” which says goodbye to this iteration of the space misfits and its driving creative voice, director James Gunn, earned $114 million in ticket sales from 4,450 locations in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Internationally, where the film opened in 52 territories including China, “Vol. 3″ earned $168 million, giving it a $282 million global debut.
“Guardians Vol. 3″ bumped ” The Super Mario Bros. Movie ” out of first place after four weekends atop the charts and kicked off the summer movie season, a vital and usually profitable corridor for Hollywood that runs through Labor Day and often accounts for 40% of a year’s box office.
The next major superhero movie on the schedule is DC’s “The Flash,” set for June 16, which has its own flurry of intrigue around it because of star Ezra Miller’s legal and personal troubles.
“Guardians Vol. 3″ sees the return of actors Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel. Reviews have been mostly positive, but a little more divided than previous installments. And it remains difficult to compare a pre-pandemic opening such as Vol. 2′s $146 million debut (May 2017) with a post-pandemic one.
“Vol. 3″ is Gunn’s last Guardians/Marvel movie as he turns his focus to leading DC Studios.
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” added $18.6 million in its fifth weekend to take second place, bringing its domestic total to $518.1 million. Globally, it has now surpassed $1.1 billion.
Third place went to “Evil Dead Rise” with $5.7 million, and in fourth place was “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” with $3.4 million — both were holdovers.
Studios left the weekend mostly clear for the superhero behemoth, but Screen Gems and Sony did debut their new Priyanka Chopra Jonas romantic comedy “Love Again” (featuring Celine Dion and some new songs) in 2,703 locations. It made a modest $2.4 million to take the fifth place spot.