Deadline’s most valuable blockbuster tournament is back. While studios enthusiastically embraced the day-and-date model of cinema during the Corona crisis when theaters were closed, they soon realized that there is nothing more profitable than a theatrical release and the downstreams that come with it. If anything, cinema is the advertisement of a film’s longevity in later home entertainment windows. In 2023, streamers like Apple joined the discussion, also recognizing the need for plays to eventize their films. The financial data compiled here for Deadline’s most valuable blockbuster tournament is selected from experienced and trustworthy sources.
THE FILM
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Disney/Marvel Studios
Hindsight is 20/20 when it comes to the success of Disney/Marvel Studios. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The film marked James Gunn’s final outing with Marvel Studios, as the filmmaker took on the co-head role at Warner Bros.’ DC Studios; In fact, he pushed for this film last summer while running DC. At the time, many feared superhero fatigue GOTG3 The film opened domestically to $118.4 million, which was one of the lower totals for a film that opened the summer on the first weekend in May – just above Sony’s first Spider-Man film in 2002 (the first film ever to gross more than $100 million and the film that started the superhero millennium boom). Also concerning was that the domestic launch was 37% below the summer 2022 opening Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($187.4 million). Global opening for GOTG3 was $282 million.
But while Marvel Studios went into freefall The wonders in November, with $46.1 million, the lowest opening ever in the Disney MCU (and furthering Disney CEO Bob Iger’s new mission to make fewer, better quality films), which GOTG3 has proven that Marvel fans will come forward when they know something is excellent. The threequel and the conclusion to the GOTG The franchise tripled at the domestic box office, ending its run at $359 million, which was a better result than Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2.7x multiple), Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (2.2x) and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2x). The threequel also posted the best second weekend hold for an MCU film during the pandemic at -48%. In the end, the film was the highest-grossing film for Disney in 2023 with $845.6 million worldwide and the studio’s only title to reach the top 10 in Deadline’s Most Valuable Blockbuster Tournament this year. Last year, Disney had four titles in the top 10, three of which were Marvel films: Avatar: The Way of Water ($531.7 million net profit), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($284 million net profit), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ($259 million net income) and Thor: Love and Thunder ($103 million net income).
THE BOX SCORE
THE CONCLUSION
While love for the franchise boosted ticket sales Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 (In the Screen Engine/Comscore exits, 58% of opening weekend moviegoers said the main reason they saw the threequel was because it was part of a franchise they valued), the Disney marketing machine, here with a Worldwide P&A of $160 million, managed This film is a summer destination. This also includes a spot before the Super Bowl game. As for the social media push, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was bolstered by the strength of its cast (including Vin Diesel, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista and Karen Gillan), which counted 350 million followers, bringing the total social media universe for the film to 704 million – more than that Online reach of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (669 million). Advertising partners offset $90 million in marketing costs. The $180 million figure includes the amount Disney sells the film to itself for, with Disney+ being the pay-one window for the studio’s films. Proof that the days of Bob Chapek’s everyday shenanigans are behind us and that the studio is a practitioner of theatrical windows, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 arrived on Disney+ 90 days after its theatrical release.