Guardians of the Galaxy set a new record for August domestic debuts earning $94 million over the weekend blowing past previous record holder The Bourne Ultimatum which made a paltry $69.3 million. Loser.
The film has made $160.4 million worldwide and had the third biggest stateside opening of the year.
“It’s a testament to the momentum of the brand overall and all of the pieces just coming together in the right way,” said Dave Hollis, Walt Disney Studios’ executive vice president of theatrical distribution.
The distribution chief argued that part of the reason tracking was so off was that Disney saved 40% of its marketing for the final week before the film opened, allowing them to drive awareness for the picture at a critical point.
“We were able to heat things up to white hot levels and use those final days as a call to arms,” said Hollis.
This is pretty amazing. It could also explain why everyone at Disney was doing blow out of a hooker’s butthole on Sunday. I was confused for a second because that’s more a Friday thing.