# Prediction: Guardians of the Galaxy makes $120 Million+ its opening weekend **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2014, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242 "2014-07-28T14:36:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/41 "2014-07-29T20:55:16Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I think it’ll do well because of the buzz, but the no-names are gonna hurt it. Maybe a $50-60m weekend? Chris Pratt is a name. Parks and Rec is a pretty popular show and he was one of the best things about Zero Dark Thirty. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/42 "2014-07-29T21:02:05Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Chris Pratt is a name. Parks and Rec is a pretty popular show and he was one of the best things about Zero Dark Thirty. The idea that there are “no names” in this movie is bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/43 "2014-07-29T22:20:57Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > The idea that there are “no names” in this movie is bizarre. Names has a very specific meaning in Hollywood: people who are the stars of movies and whose mere presence can be the difference between a large opening weekend and a mediocre one and who can sell piles of DVDs. No guarantees, of course: everybody has bombs on their records. Scarlett Johansson is a name: she just opened _Lucy_ to staggering numbers for a movie with weak reviews and worse word of mouth. Dwayne Johnson is a name; he just opened _Hercules_ to 50% more than was predicted. None of the stars in GotG are names in that sense. They’re familiar, they’ve been in a lot of movies, they can go out on the talk show circuit. But they’re not “names.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/44 "2014-07-29T22:28:24Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Names has a very specific meaning in Hollywood: people who are the stars of movies and whose mere presence can be the difference between a large opening weekend and a mediocre one and who can sell piles of DVDs. No guarantees, of course: everybody has bombs on their records. > > Scarlett Johansson is a name: she just opened _Lucy_ to staggering numbers for a movie with weak reviews and worse word of mouth. Dwayne Johnson is a name; he just opened _Hercules_ to 50% more than was predicted. > > None of the stars in GotG are names in that sense. They’re familiar, they’ve been in a lot of movies, they can go out on the talk show circuit. But they’re not “names.” Yep, “names” are dudes who can fill seats on their own. Sure the stars of Guardians" are hardly unknowns, but they’re not “names”. Tom Hanks= name. Dwayne Johnson may never win a Oscar but he’s the top grossing actor from 2013. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/45 "2014-07-30T00:48:25Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yep, “names” are dudes who can fill seats on their own. Sure the stars of Guardians" are hardly unknowns, but they’re not “names”. Tom Hanks= name. Actually, it might be argued that Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel are “names”. (_Hangover_; _Riddick/F&F_). But most people will not realize they’re in it unless they’re really paying attention. And “names” almost never count when it’s just voice work. Their draw rarely extends that far. Yeah, the OP is being about $50M too optimistic, though if August is slow enough, _GotG_ may have little to compete with for the rest of the month, helping its long-term word-of-mouth prospects. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/46 "2014-07-30T01:53:27Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Names has a very specific meaning in Hollywood: people who are the stars of movies and whose mere presence can be the difference between a large opening weekend and a mediocre one and who can sell piles of DVDs. No guarantees, of course: everybody has bombs on their records. But don’t you agree that there are different levels of names? Chris Pratt has been in a variety of projects where he has built up a lot of good will and people like him quite a bit. He’s not Downey (he’s not even pre-Iron Man Downey), but he does have a bit of a name for himself that is helping GOTG’s buzz. And to use your Lucy example, the narrative from box office watchers said the same thing about her pre Lucy. She wasn’t considered a big enough name to open a movie all by her lonesome. Clearly, they were wrong. And they’re idiots. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/47 "2014-07-30T16:41:23Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yep, “names” are dudes who can fill seats on their own. Sure the stars of Guardians" are hardly unknowns, but they’re not “names”. Tom Hanks= name. > > Dwayne Johnson may never win a Oscar but he’s the top grossing actor from 2013. Well, that’s a little deceptive given that he was in multiple films, the best-performing of which was an ensemble. ---
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/48 "2014-07-30T17:23:30Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Well, that’s a little deceptive given that he was in multiple films, the best-performing of which was an ensemble. And an ensemble in which he was third-billed actor, at that. The F&F franchise is primarily driven (:D) by Vin Diesel. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/49 "2014-07-30T19:02:54Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Two words. Im possible. . . . . But . . . but I’m hooked on the feeling. > [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > . . . no live-action, non-kids movie can have a talking anthropomorphic non-humanoid (i.e. animal) character and be successful. Adult audiences just can’t take them seriously… Blasphemy! The Rocket looks awesome. I have no opinion on how many dollars it will pull in it’s first weekend, but I’ve been wanting to watch it since the first trailer came out. That is not based on names. That is not based on familiarity with the comics (although I do know who Gamora is). That is based totally on the trailer. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/50 "2014-07-30T19:45:52Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > But don’t you agree that there are different levels of names? Chris Pratt has been in a variety of projects where he has built up a lot of good will and people like him quite a bit. I don’t know. If most people are like me they know Chris Pratt as that guy from Parks N Rec and, oh yeah, did the voice of Emmet in the Lego Movie. Other than that I couldn’t tell you anything else he’s ever done. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/51 "2014-07-30T19:49:05Z")
I think it’s the right movie at the right time. I can almost hear the _click_ of fate bringing it all together. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/52 "2014-07-30T20:54:15Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > But don’t you agree that there are different levels of names? Chris Pratt has been in a variety of projects where he has built up a lot of good will and people like him quite a bit. He’s not Downey (he’s not even pre-Iron Man Downey), but he does have a bit of a name for himself that is helping GOTG’s buzz. > > And to use your Lucy example, the narrative from box office watchers said the same thing about her pre Lucy. She wasn’t considered a big enough name to open a movie all by her lonesome. Clearly, they were wrong. And they’re idiots. Oh, man, isn’t everybody in Hollywood all the time? Who’s a “name” is a game that people play more than anything rational. All I can say is that boxofficemojo doesn’t even have a page for Chris Pratt to be able to check out his grosses. Scarlett Johansson does. And she’s being deified as a modern movie star because of her twin paths in billion-grossing action roles and Oscar bait roles. And because she looks like one. Action pictures are strange because they have ensemble casts and work off the number of explosions rather than actors. Yes, Robert Downey Jr. remade his career from an action picture. How many others can you say that of? Johnny Depp, maybe. Quick. Who played the last two Supermen and Spider-Men? Of the Guardians cast, who is the biggest star? I’d say Vin Diesel. He can open action pictures. But he’s playing a tree. People go to see Vin Diesel’s muscles, not his bark. Bradley Cooper is a voice. Zoe Saldana shows a lot of human skin, but is buried under green makeup. Chris Pratt is playing out of character. How many people are going to see them as people? They’ll be going to see an action movie. And we’ve had a lot of experience seeing where movies of this particular type open. I just don’t see the cast making an appreciable difference and certainly not $50 million of a difference. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/53 "2014-07-30T22:04:06Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I don’t know. If most people are like me they know Chris Pratt as that guy from Parks N Rec and, oh yeah, did the voice of Emmet in the Lego Movie. > > Other than that I couldn’t tell you anything else he’s ever done. I only knew him as that guy from Everwood 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bakhesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/54 "2014-07-31T18:35:22Z")
The time has come. Will post feedback in a few hours. Damn, it feels like Christmas ---
**Author:** ![TheBoltEater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheBoltEater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoltEater)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/55 "2014-07-31T19:24:05Z")
I have seen it and will post neither spoilers nor comments on the film of any kind other than to say this - For the love of all that is Holy - you MUST stay through the end of the credits. You must. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/56 "2014-07-31T19:37:52Z")
Damn, I was looking for reviews and someone spoiled the end-credit surprise for me already. I _hate_ that. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/57 "2014-07-31T22:04:47Z")
I couldn’t help myself so I had to go find the end credit stuff. I like it. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/58 "2014-07-31T22:48:12Z")
Saw it the other night and loved it. Unfortunately the press/promo screenings didn’t have the post-credit stinger attached. ---
**Author:** ![Bakhesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/59 "2014-07-31T23:06:16Z")
Just back. Great film, entertaining from start to finish. Funny throughout, some great action and surprisingly touching in places. Can’t decide in a single viewing if it’s the best Marvel film to date or not, but it’s certainly up there ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242/60 "2014-08-01T01:24:55Z")
[BoxOfficeGuru](http://www.boxofficeguru.com/weekend.htm) predicts $72 million. [BoxOfficeMojo](http://boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3882&p=.htm) goes all the way up to $82 million. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prediction-guardians-of-the-galaxy-makes-120-million-its-opening-weekend/694242.md?page=4)