‘Guardians’ rock the galaxy with $145-million domestic debut

Weekend Box Office - May 5-7, 2017

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) - No longer the underdog, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” found itself in the enviable position of having surpassed the mainstream success of its predecessor. Last week’s international rollout saw the movie opening roughly 50 percent higher than the original. That trend held true domestically as studio estimates have “Vol. 2” bringing in roughly $145 million. The first film opened to $97 million on its way to $773 million worldwide.

However, the stakes for “Vol. 2” are much higher and while the opening weekend numbers are impressive, the film will have far more competition in the coming weeks than the original did when it was released in August 2014. Will “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword,” “Alien: Covenant” and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" keep “Vol. 2” from hitting the coveted $1 billion mark? Time will tell. The worldwide total currently sits at $428 million after only 13 days in release.

In a distant second is “Fate of the Furious” with approximately $8 million. “The Boss Baby” is in third with $6 million. Fourth and fifth place will be decided on a photo finish with both “How to Be a Latin Lover” and “Beauty and the Beast” expected to finish with around $5 million.