‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ blasts off with $145M debut

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” rocketed to an estimated $145 million debut in North America, kicking off Hollywood’s summer movie season with something the movie business has been craving: a sequel more successful than the original.

Director James Gunn’s second “Guardians” film opened 54 percent higher than the 2014 runaway hit, according to studio estimates Sunday.

That release, which introduced the intergalactic band of misfits played by Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper, debuted with $94 million in its first weekend.

Once al ittle-known, oddball property in Marvel’s vault, “Guardians of the Galaxy” has grow nin t oon e of the comicbook factory’s biggest brands.

The Walt Disney Co. validated the rise of “Guardians,” too, by moving it from August (when the original opened) to the first weekend in May. Marvel has used the same weekend to effectively launch the summer season for the last decade.

The opening for “Guardians Vol. 2,” made for about $200 million, is the second largest of the year, following Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” ($174.8 million). But it also turns back the tide of underperforming sequels, a developing scourge to Hollywood. Last summer saw a litany of sequels that failed to live up to earlier installments.

“We spent a lot of time looking at sequels and the idea of sequel-itis,” said David Hollis, distribution chief for Disney. “Really, poor quality films have been the thing that has, more than anything, been rejected by consumers over time. The ambition her ew as to make something thatwasunbelievablyfreshand exciting .Asl ong aswe can continue to deliver high-quality storytelling, high-quality world-creation, we’ll be in great shape.”

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” scored on that front, landing an A CinemaScore from audiences and an 82 percent “fresh” rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. In two we eksof international release, the film has also made $269 million overseas. A third “Guardians” is already planned, as are crossoverswith Marvel’s Avengers.

But whether “Guardians” can turn the tide for summer sequels wi ll be a much-follo wed sto ry line as the season progresses. The bottom line of just about eve rys tudio depends on it.

On the horizon are big-budget sequels like “Alien: Covenant,” ”Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” ”Cars 3,” ”Transformers: The Last Knight,” ”Despicable Me 3” and “War for the Planet of the Apes.”