Guardians Of The Galaxy Is Fandango's #1 Non-Sequel Pre-Seller This Year

According to Fandango, audiences' excitement for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is at a record high, with a "Fanticipation" score of 94 out of 100 points on Fandango's "Fanticipation" movie buzz indicator. 

The space adventure film, directed by James Gunn and set in the Marvel cinematic universe, has received 93% of this weekend's ticket sales on Fandango, outselling previous Marvel franchise debuts, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger at the same point in the sales cycle.  The film is on track to be the biggest August pre-seller in Fandango's history, far outpacing advance sales for the previous record-holder, 2007's The Bourne Ultimatum, and putting it on track to be this year's #1 non-sequel pre-seller, beating previous record-holder The LEGO Movie.

Fandango has surveyed more than 1,000 "Guardians" ticket-buyers on its site and found that:

95% are attracted by the film's off-the-wall humor;

87% plan to attend the movie with a group of friends on opening weekend;

85% are looking forward to seeing Chris Pratt in his breakout role as Peter Quill ("Star-Lord");  

80% are already interested in seeing additional Guardians movies;

73% claimed the movie's retro soundtrack made them more excited to see it; 

67% picked Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper) as the otherworldly character they're most anticipating;

58% were previously unfamiliar with the "Guardians" comic books.

"In a year filled with sequels and remakes, Guardians feels fresher and more fun than any superhero movie so far this year," says Fandango Chief Correspondent Dave Karger. "Fans are craving the film's originality and that's translating to stellar advance ticket sales for a franchise first. Chris Pratt makes for a charmingly goofy and commanding hero in Guardians, and between this leading role and his voice work in The LEGO Movie, 2014 is shaping up to be Pratt's breakout year."

Guardians of the Galaxy opens August 1.