We’re keeping a close eye on James Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3” this weekend. It’ll be a good indicator of whether there is Marvel saturation going on in mainstream moviegoing.
Some believe this saturation to be a myth, others truly believe we’re about to watch the downfall of the superhero movie genre. I’m in-between. I don’t think Marvel movies are completely finished but I do find there is currently a slight slowdown happening.
All of this to say that ‘Guardians 3’ had $18 million in Thursday previews, slightly beating the second film’s $17 million. It’s the 35th best Thursday previews tally in history.
The film is projected to make around $115 million by weekend’s end. I semi-liked the film until its laborious final 45 minutes showed up.
However, unlike ‘Quantamania’ word of mouth seems to be strong among the fanboys. ‘Guardians 3’ will have great legs around the world, where it’s estimated to haul in $145 million internationally this weekend.
in China, Japan, Korea, Europe, India it’s doing great. The IMDB score is currently 8.3. It will definitely eclipse “Ant and Wasp: Quantamania” which made around $480 million worldwide.
The reviews have been … fine — 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and 65 on Metacritic. Nothing to brag home about.
Of course, we all know the rule: take these reactions with a grain of salt rather than treating them as gospel. Still, I will say that the film tested like gangbusters earlier this year, and Lionsgate clearly has confidence.