Albuquerque Journal

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ nets $145M

Sequel improves on original’s return

- BY JAKE COYLE

NEW YORK — “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 a little-known, oddball property in Marvel’s vault, the “Guardians of the Galaxy” have grown into one of the comic-book factory’s biggest brands.

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 here was to make something that was unbelievab­ly fresh and exciting. As long as we 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 weeks of internatio­nal release, the film has also made $269 million overseas. A third “Guardians” is already planned, as are crossovers with Marvel’s Avengers.

But whether “Guardians” can turn the tide for summer sequels will be a much-followed story line as the season progresses. The bottom line of just about every studio depends on it.

On the horizon are bigbudget 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.”

“I think this is going to be one of the biggest summers ever. Obviously last summer was a bummer. We had numerous sequels — well over a dozen — that didn’t live up to the promise of their immediate predecesso­r,” said Paul Dergarabed­ian, senior media analyst for comScore. “Summer 2017 gets us back on track. There’s a lot out there.”

Fearing the might of “Guardians,” no other major studio releases debuted over the weekend. The gap between first and second at the box office was immense. “The Fate of the Furious” came in at no. 2 with $8.5 million in its fourth weekend. The Universal release, the eighth installmen­t in the franchise, has grossed $1.6 billion worldwide.

The only film selling tickets globally at even roughly the same pace as “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” was the South Indian sequel “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.” The Tollywood film (in the Telugu language) has in two weeks grossed $147.3 million globally, according to comScore. That sets a new mark for an Indian film at the worldwide box office.

 ?? MARVEL STUDIOS/DISNEY ?? “Guardians of the Galaxy,” starring Chris Pratt, left, and Michael Rooker, earned the top spot at the North American box office in its debut weekend with an estimated $145 million in revenue, or 54 percent higher than the opening of the original.
MARVEL STUDIOS/DISNEY “Guardians of the Galaxy,” starring Chris Pratt, left, and Michael Rooker, earned the top spot at the North American box office in its debut weekend with an estimated $145 million in revenue, or 54 percent higher than the opening of the original.

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