Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Marvel Studios image)
May 14, 2023
Disney/Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 defied projections of a sophomore weekend letdown, generating an estimated $60.5 million in ticket sales through the May 14 Mother’s Day weekend.
The third installment featuring a cast of misfit superheroes led by Chris Pratt, saw its second weekend theatrical tally drop less than 50%, the best post-pandemic performance by a Marvel movie. Vol. 3 now has more than $528 million in global ticket sales.
The result was enough to easily top new Focus Features sequel release Book Club: Chapter 2, the follow-up to the 2018 original featuring the same cast — Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen — but with an almost 54% lower opening box office at a projected $6.5 million from $14 million for the original.
At No. 2 for the weekend, Universal Pictures’ other theatrical release — and current 2023 box office champion: The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which added $13 million in ticket sales over its sixth weekend to up its global tally past $1.2 billion, and almost $536 million in North America.
At No. 4, Warner Bros. Pictures’ horror release, Evil Dead Rise, which added $3.7 million in ticket sales to up its North American tally past $60 million ($121 million globally). The result underscoring Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s ongoing redirection of HBO Max original content, this time to the theatrical window with a positive fiscal result.
Lionsgate’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret took in an estimated $2.5 million to up its box office tally to $16.5 million. The studio’s Finnish World War 2 drama Sisu took in an estimated $511,000 to up its tally to $6.7 million (near $10 million worldwide). Finally, John Wick: Chapter 4 took in an estimated $1.93 million lifting its North American tally past $183 million, $420 million globally.
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