‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ Hits Huge Milestone Despite Sinking U.S. Box Office

Guardians of the Galaxy is a film that still continues to impress months after its release into theaters. Well, surprise surprise, it looks like Guardians of the Galaxy has hit another big milestone with its current $600 million worldwide box office haul, which brings it well past Iron Man‘s worldwide earnings of $585 million, and fast approaching Iron Man 2’s $624 million.

But that isn’t all. With its domestic gross hitting $300 million, Guardians of the Galaxy has also become the highest-grossing film in the United States for the summer — beating films like Transformers: Age of Extinction (which, ironically enough has made much more worldwide with its $1 billion worldwide gross), according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Back in late May of this year, another Hollywood Reporter story didn’t even mention Guardians of the Galaxy when predicting the biggest summer hits at the box office. This is a true sign that, no matter whatever numbers statisticians are able to throw out, there will always be anomalies and surprises to break the mold and realign expectations. With its quirky tone, lovable characters, and unforgettable soundtrack, Guardians of the Galaxy was just the break at the cinema that moviegoers needed. This fact is especially telling in this weekend’s domestic box office totals, where Guardians is still in the top 3 after so long in theaters (for reference, Transformers: Age of Extinction is number 32).

Despite Guardians of the Galaxy’s good fortune, the same cannot be said of the U.S. summer box office as a whole. Last weekend was especially dismal, with the top 12 grossing films raking in under $52 million total — Guardians of the Galaxy taking up nearly a fifth of that — nearly bringing the U.S. box office to its worst weekend in six years, according to the Washington Post. With this summer coming in at 15 percent lower than last year, according to Variety, there is clearly something going on that Hollywood is missing.

“What we need to do is, beyond superhero movies, be creating other forms of entertainment,” said Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton. “That is tricky, because that involves taking more risk.”

What those risks should be, however, is still up in the air, as things are changing quickly in today’s technologically-maturing climate. The mid-budget films are slowly dying away, and today’s box office successes usually have budgets of under $20 million or over $100 million. Audiences are now only being drawn to theaters for experiences they cannot have in their home theater — films like Guardians of the Galaxy.

It is in a climate like this that films such as Guardians of the Galaxy are a truly pleasant surprise, and we can hope that whatever other surprise hits make their way to the U.S. will be just as unique and groundbreaking.