Upon the announcement of Guardians of the Galaxy, many looked at it to be Marvel’s riskiest project yet, but really is was anything but. Thanks to an incredible soundtrack, a fun group of characters, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe brand, the film opened big in August 2014. In fact, Marvel Studios knew what the result was going to be a few weeks earlier, so they announced Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was on its way.

Fast forward to where the MCU sits now and the sequel is one of the most anticipated movies not just on the remaining MCU slate, but in all of 2017. With the response to the first film and what has so far been an excellent marketing campaign for the sequel, it would be a surprise for the movie to not do well financially. Well, even with two months until release, the film is already tracking to be one of the biggest openings of all-time.

BoxOffice Pro has revealed the long range forecast for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 currently projects the movie will earn more than $160 million domestically in its opening weekend. In total, the site projects the sequel will earn $400 million domestically by the time the theatrical run comes to a close. Both of these feats would put the movie among the top films of all-time.

As much as $160 million would be for an opening weekend, it will still only be the fifth highest release within the MCU. The Avengers ($207.4M), Avengers: Age of Ultron ($191.3M), Captain America: Civil War ($179.1M), and Iron Man 3 ($174.1) all earned more in their opening weekends, all of which were released in the first week of May – just like Guardians 2. However when compared to the first film in this franchise, $160 million would far surpass Guardians‘ opening weekend ($94.3M). If that was not good enough, this opening would also give the sequel one of the 10 best openings of all-time.

The domestic numbers meanwhile would rank equally when compared to fellow MCU films. All four of the aforementioned titled grossed $400M or more domestically, so it would not be a surprise for Guardians 2 to do the same if this opening is correct. In terms of all-time ranks, the movie would be the 26th film all-time to gross more than $400M domestically.

Even though these numbers are great already, with two months to go before the film comes out, there is still plenty of time for the tracking to change. Given the buzz so far, this number could grow higher, unless the first round of reviews for the film drive audiences away. That said, given Marvel’s track record so far, it would be quite surprising for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 to be a critical bomb. Whether it hits these numbers or makes even more, it is clear that the film may not just be one of the biggest hits of the year, but of all-time

Source: Screenrant.com