Guardians of the Galaxy was seen as a gamble when it was initially announced and, even this year, there were doubts that Marvel would have anything but a modest hit on their hands. That all changed over the weekend when the movie surpassed all expectations and earned an estimated $94 million in the US. This is the biggest opening weekend ever for a movie in August, with the next best being The Bourne Ultimatum making $69.3 million in 2007.
Positive reviews and word of mouth should keep Guardians of the Galaxy ticket sales strong for weeks to come and a sequel has already been put into motion. For those that missed the Comic-Con news, James Gunn will return to write and direct the next movie, with a release date already set for July 28th, 2017.
In other box office news, Lucy had a strong second weekend and has earned a total of $71 million since opening. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is nearing $200 million in the US and should pass that mark by next weekend. The Purge: Anarchy has nearly passed the domestic theatrical gross of The Purge, making a third installment a sure thing at this point.
Next weekend sees the release of The Hundred-Foot Journey, Into The Storm, Step Up All In, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. With Guardians of the Galaxy being such a massive success, it's definitely going to have some impact on the performance of Ninja Turtles, and could potentially prevent it from taking first place. Either way, the top ten will look quite a bit different from how it does this weekend:
1. Guardians of the Galaxy - $94,000,000
2. Lucy - $18,283,000
3. Get On Up - $14,031,000
4. Hercules - $10,700,000
5. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - $8,700,000
6. Planes: Fire & Rescue - $6,424,000
7. The Purge: Anarchy - $5,551,000
8. Sex Tape - $3,550,000
9. And So It Goes - $3,344,000
10. A Most Wanted Man - $3,324,000
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