Marvel is making a habit of outdoing themselves at the box office, and that has just happened once more.Guardians of the Galaxy 2has been doing big business at the box office over the past few weeks and now it has just crossed a pretty bigbox office milestone. James Gunn’s sequel has now officially passed the box office gross of the originalGuardians of the Galaxy, and it still has plenty of room to run.
According toBox Office Mojo, Marvel Studios’Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2has grossed a total of $785.3 million at the global box office, after factoring in the Memorial Day weekend take. That puts it a few million ahead of its predecessor, with the firstGuardians of the Galaxyfinishing its theatrical run with a total of $773.3 million. Granted,Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2carries a production budget of $200 million, which is about $30 million more than the original. Still, it is clear that audiences want to see more from Star-Lord, Rocket,Baby Groot, Drax and Gamora, which is exactly what they are going to get.
It shouldn’t be that much of a surprise that the sequel has done so well. The originalGuardians of the Galaxywas a big surprise, with many looking at it as a huge risk for Marvel Studios at the time, That was far from the case, considering it was one of the highest-grossing movies of 2014. That opened the door forGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2to do even better at the box office, with everyone is now more familiar with these characters and much more invested in their story. Now,Guardians of the Galaxyis one of the biggest franchises Marvel has at their disposal, which is really saying something.
The general consensus from critics seems to be thatGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2isn’t quite as good as the first movie, though, it is still considered a very solid movie. Any shortcomings it may have certainly haven’t hurt it financially. The sequel holds an 81 percent approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, with the original holding a 91 percent. However, the audience score for both movies is very close, and that arguably matters a lot more. The first movie holds a slightly better 92 percent audience rating, butGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2has a 90 percent rating, which is only marginally lower. Both movies are bigcrowd pleasers.
With many of the other major summer movies starting to arrive, such asPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Talesthis weekend, things should be slowing down forGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2in the coming weeks. But the impressive take definitely justifies Marvel’s plans for the cosmic superteam in the future. TheGuardians of the Galaxyare set to appear inAvengers: Infinity Warnext year, as well as the untitledAvengers 4in 2019.James Gunnhas also already announced that he is coming back to directGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which is expected to arrive in 2020.
