‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ debuts with $114 million at box office

The newest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3′, brings this group of intergalactic misfits to an epic conclusion.

The film is officially the second-biggest opening weekend of the year, accumulating $114 million at the domestic box office, just behind ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ which opened with $146 million in its opening weekend.

The third installment surpassed the original ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ which garnered $94 million during its first weekend, but falls behind ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2′ which brought in $146 million.

However, when accounting for the international box office, ‘Guardians 3′ pulled in a stellar $282 million, with the movie being especially popular in China and South Korea.

Superhero fatigue

Marvel’s phase four sparked the conversation of superhero fatigue as this particular phase released a record number of films and shows – in comparison to previous phases – and faced harsh criticism from fans and critics alike, with many pointing to the emphasis on quantity over quality.

Even phase five, which kicked off earlier this year with ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’, was poorly received.

However, Marvel seems to be taking things in the right direction as ‘Guardians 3′ has risen to positive acclaim. The film currently sits at an 81 percent on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and scored an A on CinemaScore from fans.

“Gunn gets melancholic in his farewell to Marvel but hasn’t lost his sense of fun,” said reviewer Ruth Maramis. “Rocket’s backstory gets me bawling but there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments to balance the somber mood.”

Gunn’s exit from Marvel

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3′ marks director James Gunn’s final Marvel film as he’s since become co-CEO of DC Studios. In addition to writing and directing each of the ‘Guardians’ movies, Gunn also acted as executive producer on ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame’.