Director James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy is expected to debut in over 4,080 theaters with at least $65 million this weekend, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
The Marvel Studios’ new franchise, which cost $170 million to produce, expects to come in first this week at the box office and includes a diverse cast. It stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Bradley Cooper (voice of Rocket Raccoon), Vin Diesel (voice of Groot), Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glen Close and Benicio del Toro.
In an interview with THR, Gunn described the action-adventure film as “much more of a space opera than a superhero movie.”
Currently, the film has received a 93 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Analysts estimate that Guardians of the Galaxy may even surpass the $65 million mark, possibly achieving over $70 million after this weekend. At the moment, 2007’s The Bourne Ultimatum holds the record for highest August opening with $69.2 million, with 2001’s Rush Hour 2 following with $67.4 million.
Below is the film’s official synopsis:
From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team-the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits-Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand-with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.
With all the excitement around Guardians, Marvel and Disney have already announced plans at Comic-Con International for a sequel to release on July 28, 2017, with Gunn returning to direct.
Guardians of the Galaxy hits theaters this Friday, August 1st.
