Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Early Box Office Projected Lower Than Second Movie

For the first time in nearly a month, the box office isn't going to be ruled by The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The animated juggernaut from Nintendo and Illumination is going to lose its top spot this weekend with the release of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The final entry in James Gunn's sci-fi trilogy is a hit with critics and has fans buzzing with excitement, but it may not hit the same box office highs as its predecessor.

According to Deadline, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is already on pace for $14 million in previews on Thursday night. While that's a great haul compared to most movies, it's down from the $17 million earned by 2017's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on its preview night. That film went on to make $146.5 million over the course of its opening weekend.

The projects for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's opening weekend have been all over the map the last couple of weeks. The film is currently expected to earn somewhere between $110 million and $130 million over the next thee days.

Will the Guardians Return?

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the end of the road for James Gunn's take on the Guardians team. Now that he's over at DC Studios, Gunn is done with the franchise. Several Guardians stars have also confirmed they're not coming back for future Marvel movies. Chris Pratt, who plays Star-Lord, recently told GamesRadar that it would be hard to reprise his role without Gunn involved, but that he wasn't completely closing the door.

"It would be strange to continue [Star Lord's] story without James," Pratt explained. "He's done such a masterful job in the first three films. We really found the voice of Peter Quill together and without him, obviously, I would never have had this opportunity. He writes it, he directs it, he dreams up the music, it's his imagination on screen. So, to continue to tell the story, it would really be important to honor what he's done in the first three films and to honor what the fans have grown to love about the character and not simply do it because people might show up to pay for it, you know?"

Excited for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3? Check out some of the great pieces from our ComicBook CRAM about everyone's favorite Marvel space family.