Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy earned $94 million (over 70 million euros) in its debut weekend, according to studio estimates yesterday.
Ahead of its Friday debut, box office analysts initially projected that the comic book adaptation would earn between $60 million and $75 million in North America.
Guardians of the Galaxy has in fact seen rather the biggest opening for a film released in the traditionally low-key month of August, a record previously held by the $69.2 million debut of 2007's The Bourne Ultimatum.
It also makes Guardians the third largest opening of 2014, coming behind the $95 million opening weekend of Captain America: The Winter Soldier in April and the $100 million launch of Transformers: Age of Extinction in June.
Guardians was originally considered a risky proposition for Marvel and "Guardians" distributor Walt Disney Co. because it features more obscure characters from the Marvel universe and is set almost entirely in outer space.
