For the last two years (and four of the last five years) Marvel has kept a foothold on the first weekend in May, which kicks off thesummer movie season. The studio still holds the May record for the biggest opening withThe Avengers' $207.4 million debut, but their most recent May hits, 2015’sAvengers: Age of Ultron($191.2 million) and last year’sCaptain America: Civil War($179.1 million) have fallen just short of that mark. This year, the studio releasesGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which is the only movie opening in wide release this Friday, and will definitely hit quite huge, getting the summer season off to a great start. But it may still fall short ofThe Avengers' all-time Marvel record, opening with a predicted $181.7 million.
Box Office Mojoreports that Marvel is planning on rolling outGuardians 2in approximately 4,200 theaters, which falls in line with the rollout of the last fewMarvel blockbusters. Last year’sCaptain America: Civil Waropened in 4,226 theaters for a $42,390 per-screen average, while 2015’sAvengers: Age of Ultrondebuted in 4,276 theaters for a $44,731 per-screen average. When taking our $181.7 million projection into account, with a debut in approximately 4,200 theaters, the Marvel sequel’s per-screen average comes out to $43,261, but we don’t have an exact theater count yet so that may not be quite accurate.
The one thing that is becoming increasingly clear is that no other studios want to compete with Marvel Studios movies, at least not their most coveted properties. BothCaptain America: Civil WarandAvengers: Age of Ultronopened in the first weekend of May with no other movies competing against it in wide release. The originalGuardians of the Galaxy movie, which opened in the first week of August in 2014, debuted with $94.3 million, with only one new release competing against it, Universal’s musical biopicGet On Up, which earned $13.5 million in a distant third place. However, it’s brand new adventures likeDoctor Strange, which opened againstTrollsandHacksaw Ridge, andAnt-Man, which debuted againstTrainwreck, that don’t seem to pose as much of a threat to rival studios.
Set to the backdrop ofAwesome Mixtape #2, Marvel’sGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes' aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand. OriginalGuardians of the Galaxystars Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Dave Bautista (Drax the Destroyer), Vin Diesel (Baby Groot), Bradley Cooper (Rocket Raccoon), Michael Rooker (Yondu), Karen Gillan (Nebula) and Sean Gunn (Kraglin) return, alongside franchise newcomersSylvester Stallone(Starhawk), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Elizabeth Debicki (Ayesha) and Kurt Russell (Ego the Living Planet)
Rounding out the top 10 will likely beThe Fate of the Furious($10.1 million),How to Be a Latin Lover($7.4 million),Baahubali: The Conclusion(6 million),The Circle($5.7 million),The Boss Baby($4.6 million),Beauty and the Beast($4.2 million),Going in Style($2.6 million),Smurfs: The Lost Village($1.8 million) andGifted($1.3 million). Also opening in limited release are The Weinstein Company’s drama3 Generations, The Orchard’s thrillerThe Diner, A24’s romantic comedyThe Lovers, Argot Pictures' documentarySacredand Well Go USA’s romantic comedyThis Is Not What I Expected. It remains to be seen if any of those projects will expand in the weeks to come.
Looking ahead to next weekend, Warner Bros. will roll out its fantasy adventureKing Arthur: The Legend of the Sword, starring Charlie Hunnam, while 20th Century Fox debuts the Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn comedySnatchedand Blumhouse Tilt rolls outLowriders, starring Demian Bichir and Theo Rossi. Also opening in limited release is Atlas Distribution’sAbsolutely Anything, Vladar Company’sGeneration Iron 2, Sony Pictures Classics comedyParis Can Wait, First Run’s documentaryStefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe, Roadside Attracions' thrillerThe Walland their romantic comedyThe Wedding Planand Arrow Films’Whiskey Galore. Take a look at our projections for the weekend of May 5, and check back on Sunday for the box office estimates.
