As expected,Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2has arrived with a massive domestic opening weekend, looking to tally up well over $145 million by the time Monday morning comes around. This would put the Marvel blockbuster right below Disney’sBeauty and the Beastin the list of the biggest domestic openings of 2017, which was also somewhat expected. This would count as the official kick off to the summer season at the movies andJames Gunn’s fascinating sequel, along withRidley Scott’s surprisingly audaciousAlien: Covenant, will likely be one of the more unique entries of the season by the end of August.
The question now becomes howGuardianswill perform in the weeks to come and if history is any indicator, it’ll be on top for at least another week. Next week brings two wide releases -King Arthur: Legend of the SwordandSnatched- but neither of them have much momentum, whether from marketing or otherwise, to really give Guardians trouble. There’s an outside chance thatGuy Ritchie’s latest attempt to make historical literaturefucking awesomecould give the Marvel juggernaut a fight but it has exactly no buzz going into its opening weekend. That’s usually not a great sign. The same goes forAmy SchumerandGoldie Hawn’s adventure-comedy, which boasts little more than a great cast of women in a woefully familiar premise.
Otherwise, the top five at the box office looks identical to what it looked like on Friday.F. Gary Gray’sThe Fate of the Furiousremains in the number two spot with $8.5 million, pushing its total domestic take past the $200 million mark, while DreamWorks' tenaciousThe Boss Babyheld onto the number three spot with $6.1 million.How to Be a Latin Loverhad an impressive second weekend with $5.2 million estimated to come in by the end of today, making for another hit for starEugenio Derbez. And then, finally, there is the titan that isBeauty and the Beast, which returns to the top five in its eighth frame after getting booted last week byThe Circle’s meager opening. Whether or notGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2will be able to match this sort of success in the weeks to come is one of the many questions to look forward to as the big studios begin their summer seasons.
Here’s the top five:
Domestic Weekend BO
Total Domestic BO
- ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’
$145,049,000
- ‘The Fate of the Furious’
$8,528,965
$207,136,495
3. ‘The Boss Baby’
$6,175,000
$156,735,525
- ‘How to Be a Latin Lover’
$5,250,000
$20,653,320
- ‘Beauty and the Beast’
$4,943,000
$487,594,615
