The first ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ was a surprise smash with moviegoers, earning $773 million globally. Considering that it was based on a fairly obscure comic book and wasn’t directly connected to the rest of the Marvel Studios films, it’s amazing run at the box office was pretty astonishing. But this ragtag group of underdogs may have actually topped their previous success. Test audiences who have seen the sequel, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ gave it an astounding 100% approval rating! That tops previous hits like ‘Iron Man 3’ and ‘The Avengers’ which both scored in the upper 90s with test audiences. That makes this the top performer of any Marvel Studios film! (Or MOST films, actually!)
Add to that the trailer that premiered during the Super Bowl, which was one of the best-received ads during that telecast.
All studios conduct test screenings, usually culling people from shopping venues. These people are then asked to rate the film they just saw and are sometimes asked follow-up questions. Marvel has always employed a stricter process in an effort to prevent spoilers from leaking. They have instead gone with a “friends and family” system, which may taint the audience reaction– in other words, the viewers may already be a bit biased.
And obviously, these test screenings aren’t accurate in predicting how well a movie may actually do at the box office, where folks actually have to pay to see them. In fact, this number doesn’t even predict how critics will receive the movie once they see it. (But critics and audiences don’t necessarily agree on these sorts of things.)
But it’s still pretty good, right?
One executive stated:
“What an audience enjoys isn’t necessarily what it responds to.”
Iconic movies sometimes don’t test well. The source cited ‘Pretty Woman’ which tested in the 70s and ‘Forrest Gump’ which scored an 88. Also listed, ‘Black Swan’ tested a meager 55%, but Natalie Portman won an Oscar for her role in it.
When learning of the news, director James Gunn put the results into perspective with this tweet:
For the record the 2nd highest scoring film I’ve worked on is Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed – so I take these things w a grain of salt
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) February 10, 2017
So there is a lot that remains to be seen, but so far, things are looking great for this sequel!
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2′ directed by James Gunn, starring Chris Pratt, Zoë Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, Michael Rooker, Sean Gunn, Pom Klementieff, Kurt Russell, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, and Glenn Close takes off on May 5, 2017.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
