Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Zooms to $282.1 Million Opening at Global Box Office

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has collected an impressive $282.1 million (about Rs. 2,306 crore) at the global box office in its opening weekend. Marking the final instalment in James Gunn's intergalactic outlaw series, the film is reported to be performing better than the projected $250 million (about Rs. 2,043 crore). Around $168.1 million (about Rs. 1,374 crore) was pulled from markets outside the US, with China emerging as the top performer. While the figures look good, it's still a lower haul when compared to other Marvel Cinematic Universe films of similar stature, which didn't open day-and-date in China. The film earned $114 million (about Rs. 931 crore) from within the US and Canada.

For comparison, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness debuted globally at $450 million (about Rs. 3,677 crore), despite not opening in China until week two. Under similar conditions, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 made around $252 million (about Rs. 2,059 crore) during its opening weekend. In recent times, we've been seeing a common trend where the Chinese market has become increasingly irrelevant to Hollywood movies, with the country having barred several releases.

That said, strong word-of-mouth and positive reviews have propelled Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 to a successful opening — partly fueled by the emotional attachment fans formed with its characters (and this being the last movie in the trilogy). This would also be director Gunn's final contribution to Marvel for the foreseeable future, as he focuses on steering rival DC Studios into a new direction.

As per Deadline, when it comes to markets outside the US and Canada, China took the lead, collecting $28.1 million (about Rs. 230 crore) in ticket sales. Following close behind is the UK, which has drawn $14.7 million (about Rs. 120 crore), besting the Korean market which made $13.6 million (about Rs. 111 crore). Mexico came fourth, a little short of Korea's numbers, pulling $13 million (about Rs. 106 crore) for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The top five regions for the film were rounded out by France with $8.2 million (about Rs. 67 crore) in ticket sales so far.

The next few weeks will be crucial for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, as it competes with the highly-anticipated Fast X on May 19 and Disney's The Little Mermaid on May 25, for a top spot at the global box office. The film needs to gain some serious momentum, or else it could suffer the same fate as the last MCU entry, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which failed to even break the 500 million mark. GotG 3 is an objectively better film anyway, so I really hope that doesn't happen.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now showing in theatres worldwide.