Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy smashes box office expectations, as James Gunn teases Guardians Of The Galaxy 2...
Since it was first announced, Guardians Of The Galaxy has been earmarked as Marvel Studios' big gamble. It's, on paper, the least known property it's brought to the big screen, it's not a sequel, it's not centred around one hero, and it's got an untraditional late summer release date. There's no way that could be as big a hit as all the others, right?
Piffle. Over the weekend, Guardians Of The Galaxy blasted away box office predictions and did some quite extraordinary business. James Gunn's movie took $94m at the US box office, the biggest August opening on record by distance (the previous record holder was The Bourne Ultimatum, with $69.3m). Furthermore, it added $66m outside the US, for a current worldwide total of $160.4m.
In the US, the movie had a bigger opening than Thor: The Dark World, and nearly matched the huge numbers of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
More importantly though, the film is going down strongly and being widely enjoyed. And that's not a point lost on James Gunn, who posted his appreciation on Facebook.
"Thanks to all of you who saw (and are seeing) Guardians Of The Galaxy this weekend, from the bottom of my heart. The Guardians are a group of oddballs, outcasts, and geeks. The movie is for anyone who ever felt cast aside, left out, or different. It’s for all of us who don’t belong. This movie belongs to you. And, today, I think we’re doing okay", he wrote.
Reiterating that the final cut is the film he intended and pitched to Marvel, he took time to thank the cast and crew for their work, and described the movie's release as "like giving a foster pet up for adoption to the most wonderful parents in the world."
Furthermore, he revealed he's been busy. writing that "while many of you have been enjoying the film, I’ve spent this weekend hard at work on the sequel. I couldn’t help myself! The results are nice but it’s really the creative process I love and that keeps me going. I’m on fire with this thing! The Guardians have so many hardships and heartaches and triumphs ahead of them, and I can’t wait to share them with all of you".
The full Facebook post is here, and Guardians Of The Galaxy 2 will be in cinemas on July 28th 2017.
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