James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 may be the epic conclusion as Gunn re-shifts his focus to the DC Universe. But again, the recently launched installment of the $1.2 billion franchise remains overshadowed by Chris Pratt’s The Super Mario Bros. Rocket Raccoon’s tragic story opened with $114 million at the U.S. box office, becoming the second-biggest opening weekend, following Mario’s $168 million box office record.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Faces Stiff Competition Ahead
James Gunn‘s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is pushed to second place by Chris Pratt’s The Super Mario Bros., as the Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon’s “epic conclusion” grossed $114 million at the U.S. box office.
Even though James Gunn’s final installment continues to rock on the second weekend accompanied by 5 stars and an A on Cinema Score, leaving behind Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which received a B or B+, the third installment still faces stiff competition from a hoard of upcoming summer releases.
On one hand, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 needs at least two weeks of sturdy ticket sales, on the other, Universal’s Fast X, which releases on May. 19, stands as a tough competitor than May Marvel releases usually face before Memorial Day week.
As the race to rule the global box office continues, James Gunn expressed his desire for a fourth film, of course with a different director, as the man gets behind the camera for Marvel’s rival, DC, where he is set to come up with a new Superman film (set to release in 2025).
April projections revealed that “Marvel is worried about their internal tracking”, and the final installment was predicted to become the lowest-grossing movie in the $1.6B Marvel Franchise, but there’s still a lot of hope left!
James Gunn Criticized For Peter Quill’s Fake Emotional Moment
Chris Pratt may have a fortune in both hands, owing to the success of The Super Mario Bros. and this weekend’s success of Guardian of the Galaxy 3, but its James Gunn, who is being criticized for a “dumb” answer for the final installment’s major plot hole.
During the entire movie, Star-Lord is without his iconic helmet. Quill almost dies as he flings into space to retrieve his beloved Mp3 player, Zune, containing all that classic rock music. This means he could have been killed from exposure to the vacuum’s freezing temperature.
While most fans focussed on Rocket Raccoon, which was the whole point of the epic conclusion, some curious fans questioned Gunn about that missing helmet. The director had a rather dumb explanation of the plot hole. He re-tweeted:
“It’s in his desk drawer in Knowhere. He had to get out of there fast as you know! (And as for the next question people ask – the rockets that clip onto his boots are far inferior to the jet packs Rocket has made them so they’re not around at all anymore).
Fans were quick to criticize the director for offering a dumb explanation for a major plot hole. One wrote, “This might be the dumbest possible answer I’ve ever seen a filmmaker make when asked about a crucial plot hole.” Another called it “Quill’s fake emotional moment.”
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was released on May 5, 2023, and is available in theatres near you.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes
