“The Guardians of the Galaxy” touched down with a dazzling $94 million this weekend.
That set a new record for an August domestic debut, easily trumping the $69.3 million bow of 2007’s “The Bourne Ultimatum,” and scoring the third biggest stateside opening of the year. Overseas, the film netted an impressive $66.4 million in 42 territories, including Russia, Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom. It has brought in $160.4 million worldwide and still has many major markets left to open such as China, Australia, France and Spain.
The Walt Disney release blew past tracking that initially suggested a U.S. debut in the $65 million to $70 million range.
“It’s a testament to the momentum of the brand overall and all of the pieces just coming together in the right way,” said Dave Hollis, Walt Disney Studios’ executive vice president of theatrical distribution.
The distribution chief argued that part of the reason tracking was so off was that Disney saved 40% of its marketing for the final week before the film opened, allowing them to drive awareness for the picture at a critical point.
“Guardians of the Galaxy” represented a roll of the dice for the studio and its corporate parent, Walt Disney. It arrived with a production budget of $170 million (plus whatever it cost to market the interstellar heroes from one end of the planet to the other), but without the brand recognition of a Captain America or a Thor. It also debuted in August, traditionally a slower time for popcorn films.
Tapping James Gunn, a tongue-in-cheek auteur best known for low-budget enterprises such as “Slither” and “Super,” and Chris Pratt, the “Parks & Recreation” funny man, were offbeat choices that reaped dividends. The picture was hailed for its sense of humor, with critics rewarding it with a 96% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“The movie is irreverent, the movie is rebellious and the movie is not a slick Hollywood-produced wrap everything up in bow kind of film,” said Greg Foster, chairman and president of Imax Entertainment.
Blasting off at the tail-end of summer was also a deft move. This summer has been a dreadful one for the movie business, with receipts down nearly 20% from last year’s record-breaker. But that meant that movie-goers were hungry for a broad, exciting, special effects-driven adventure after three months of blockbusters that weren’t.
