‘Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3’ Collects $118 Million Opening

Marvel is celebrating the overwhelming success of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3’ after a successful box office opening that saw the film kick off the summer movie season with $118 million at the domestic box office, according to Variety.

While the numbers seem impressive, it is actually below expectations despite clocking the second-biggest debut of the year, behind “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” which hauled in an impressive $146 million.

In comparison to other films in the Guardians trilogy, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” enjoyed a much bigger $146 million debut, but, it can be argued that it is less about the opening weekend and more about the overall gross.

The original Guardians film opened to $94 million in 2014.

It’s a different story when it comes to the international box office, with “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” adding another cool $170 million from 52 markets, bringing the film’s global tally to $289 million.

Guardians Vol.3 is the lead horse into a summer film season that will see ‘Fast X’ and ‘The Little Mermaid’ arrive later this month.