'Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2' already crosses $100 million at the box office
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 doesn't open in the United States until May 5, but international box office returns portend good times ahead for the latest Marvel space adventure.
Across 37 international openings, Guardians 2 has picked up an estimated $101.2 million in ticket sales. It's on pace for a #1 box office finish in 34 of those countries, only falling short in Portugal, Turkey, and Vietnam.
Guardians 2 is also off to a healthier start than its predecessor. The movie's estimated opening box office is larger than that of Guardians 1 in every one of the 37 markets it landed in this weekend, save for Belgium -- which hosted previews of the original movie.
Some important context: "37 markets" might sound like a lot, but these locations individually represent a small fraction of the global film market. The biggest Guardians 2 opening this weekend was in the United Kingdom, with an estimated $15.5 million box office.
That's not to suggest Guardians 2 isn't popular -- it's more a reflection of the differing market sizes once you start looking at filmgoing audiences outside the United States. Think of this first, pre-U.S. opening weekend instead as a preview of what's to come.
In that sense, Guardians 2 looks like it's headed for "hit" status. It's the U.K.'s second-biggest opening of 2017, and also the second-biggest Marvel Cinematic Universe opening in the U.K., Germany, and the Netherlands. It was also the MCU's biggest start to date in Austria.
In addition to the May 5 opening in the U.S., Guardians also opens in a number of other key markets, including South Korea, Russia, and -- most significantly -- China.
For comparison: across the life of its theatrical run, the first Guardians picked up $333.2 million in the U.S. and $440.2 million from foreign markets. Even without China, Russia, and South Korea -- some of the foreign consumers of Hollywood blockbusters -- in the mix, Guardians 2 has earned almost a quarter of its predecessor's overseas total.
It was, unsurprisingly, a quiet box office weekend domestically. Major studios wisely avoided releasing anything major in the week before Guardians 2, leaving weeks-old favorites to duke it out with a handful of lower-profile newcomers.
The Fate of the Furious owns the #1 spot once again, with an estimated $19.4 million. As I predicted last weekend, it is now a $1 billion-seller at the box office, thanks to $192.7 million earned domestically and an astonishing $867.6 million from foreign markets.
China owns more than a third of the overseas total, with $319.4 million for Fate so far. None of the other territories come close to that figure; next in line is the U.K., with $29.5 million.
All box office figures provided by comScore and Box Office Mojo, with additional context around overseas ticket sales provided by Disney.
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
