The final outing for the Guardians of the Galaxy and James Gunn is off to an excellent start. The movie had a huge opening weekend, easily surpassing Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania for the biggest opening weekend for an MCU film this year.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 grossed $114 million on its opening weekend at the US box office according to a report by Deadline, inching past its initial projections of around $110 million. But, that's not all. The final MCU film for director James Gunn surprised experts as it rocketed past estimates, earning over $282 million globally as it debuted last weekend. The movie was projected to earn $250 million which was conservative given the uncertainty in China and Korea. The film did well in these two markets, grossing $28.1 million and $13.6 million respectively.

The $28 million earnings in China is small when compared to other MCU films pre-COVID19 pandemic. However, it gave Hollywood the biggest opening weekend this year which is a good sign as other tentpole films such as The Super Mario Bros Movie and Shazam: Fury of the Gods struggled in the market.

The overseas debut of Vol 3 was 70% higher than the first Guardians of the Galaxy and right on par with the second movie. Removing the Chinese box office, the third installment earned 98% more than the original and 13% more than the second one.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 surpassed expectations in all territories. The movie was well-received by audiences and is now the third most liked MCU film behind Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Spider-Man: No Way Home. The positive reception from fans boosted sales globally, helping the movie debut at the No.1 spot in all markets except Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

The third outing for the misfit team finally ended The Super Mario Bros Movie’s reign at the box office leaderboard.

Interestingly enough, both films are led by Chris Pratt, who plays Peter Quill or Star-Lord and Super Mario, respectively.

Super Mario was on top of the box office charts for four weeks before being ousted by the Guardians of the Galaxy, which would mean that moviegoers have been watching and hearing Chris Pratt's voice for over a month now.

Gunn returned to write and direct the third movie. It ended up as his final MCU project as he was recently tapped to lead the new DC Universe. The director hoped to break the threequel curse and deliver a fitting finale for the Guardians of the Galaxy.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is currently showing in theaters worldwide.