Disney’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is coming in higher than yesterday’s projections for the weekend. Word-of-mouth is in full effect for the film, which opened with an underwhelming $118 million last weekend but is eyeing one of the best second-weekend holds in Marvel Cinematic Universe history. The third installment in writer-director James Gunn’s superhero trilogy is looking at a $60 million-plus finish in its second weekend of release, which takes its running domestic total to $213 million.
In overseas markets, Guardians of the Galaxy 3 has grossed $315 million so far, which puts its current global haul at $528 million. This is already higher than Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s $475 million lifetime global haul, and should come as some much-needed relief for Marvel Studios. Ant-Man 3 fell by around 70% in its second weekend, which was one of the worst drops for a movie of its size. But it is common for Marvel titles to register drops greater than 60% in their sophomore weekends.
Guardians of the Galaxy 3’s 49% drop puts it in a rather exclusive group of only five MCU films that have fallen 50% or less in their second weekends. While Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: No From Home dropped by around 67% and 68% respectively, Black Panther fell by 45%, Thor by 47%, Doctor Strange by 49%, and Iron Man and The Avengers by 50%. Guardians of the Galaxy 3 still has some way to go before it is able to match the first film’s $770 million global haul and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’s $863 million global haul.
The movie will no doubt be impacted next week when Fast X screeches into theaters, and then the week after that, with The Little Mermaid swimming ashore. But its strong reviews and excellent A CinemaScore seem to be paying off. Fans that have followed the adventures of the ragtag Guardians would also be interested in seeing the emotional sendoff that Gunn has given them before he settles into his new role as the co-CEO of rival DC Studios.
Two New Releases Debuted in the Top Five
Universal’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie retained the number two position for the second weekend in a row, after topping the box office charts for the entire month of April. The animated mega-hit added $13 million in its sixth weekend, pushing its running domestic tally to $536 million. Globally, the film passed $1.2 billion this weekend. Debuting soft at the number three spot is the older-skewing counter-programmer Book Club: The Next Chapter, which is eyeing a $6.5 million opening weekend haul — roughly half of what the first Book Club made in its opening weekend back in 2018. The first film was a sleeper hit, ultimately grossing over $100 million worldwide. Book Club 2 would’ve hoped for a Mother’s Day bump, which didn’t come. But most older-skewing movies open low, so this one shouldn’t be written off just yet.
Fourth place went to Evil Dead Rise, which added $3.7 million this weekend, pushing its running domestic total to just over $60 million. Evil Dead Rise has now established itself as the highest-grossing entry in the iconic horror franchise, both domestically and globally. The top five was rounded out by another new release, director Robert Rodriguez’s low-key thriller Hypnotic, starring Ben Affleck. Playing in over 2,100 domestic theaters, the film grossed just $2.3 million on its opening weekend. This comes weeks after Affleck experienced some success with the sports drama Air, which is still playing in the top 10.
Overall business this weekend stands at just over $100 million, which is 13% ahead of the same weekend in 2022. All eyes will be on how Fast X performs next weekend, given the increasing disinterest in the franchise and the concerning early reactions. You can watch our interview with cast member Michelle Rodriguez here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.