Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has finally hit theaters and while it did make an impressive $114 million at the box office during its opening weekend, it was not enough to beat out its predecessors. In fact, it ranks dead last in terms of opening weekends for Disney’s top summer Marvel releases since 2013, with the lowest-grossing total of all nine, according to IndieWire. Ouch.
While the film did receive mixed reviews, earning an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it was not enough to bring in the same kind of revenue as previous Marvel films. The falloff from last year’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is steep, with Guardians down $73 million from its predecessor, despite being a sequel to a more successful series.
This drop in revenue should be concerning for Marvel and Disney, as it is the first high-expectation release since Universal’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie debuted a month ago, and the first test of the hope that its extraordinary response might suggest a higher trajectory for future films.
While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is certainly an asset for theaters, as any film opening over $100 million is a positive event, it highlights the fact that Marvel looks like they're off, despite still performing better than DC on most films. It may be time for Marvel to revamp their approach and look towards fresher entries.
While the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie is critical, it remains to be seen whether or not interest will continue to decrease for Marvel blockbusters and be transferred over to fresher entries in the future. The next few weeks will be telling for the trajectory of the summer box office.
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