GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Just Beat Every 2014 Movie At The Box Office

The Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel’s band of misfit superheroes, just beat every single 2014 release at the Box Office by earning the highest Thursday opening at $11.2 million. Yep, that includes Marvel’s other superhero films: The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Days of Future Past, and Captain America: Winter Soldier. Hell, James Gunn’s Guardians defeated Michael Bay’s Transformers: Age of Extinction, a feat no one would’ve expected, especially with GOTG’s typically dire August release date.

In even better news, Guardians of the Galaxy’s initial $60-$70 million opening weekend projections have just skyrocketed. The big sites, with their fancy shmancy analysts, project GOTG will garner $90 million in its opening weekend.

Dudes! This is Guardians of the Galaxy. The D-list of Marvel’s comic universe. This is just the most insane thing in the world! How the hell does such an obscure property climb to the top of the summer box office? I just can’t wrap my mind around Marvel’s success. Not to be a gushing fanboy, but let’s remember, not a soul believed Kevin Feige’s Marvel Studios would succeed with their first Iron Man movie. Hell, no one thought casting Robert Downey Jr. was a good idea.

Looks like they were all wrong!

I wonder if Marvel will create some more team flicks. In addition to Avengers or Guardians, perhaps we’ll see Alpha Flight at the silver screen. Or how about Masters of Evil. What about a classic version of the Defenders, which included Dr. Strange, Hulk, Namor, and Silver Surfer. Obviously the final two are contested, as their cinematic endeavors are controlled by separate studios, but I’d still love to see Hulk and Dr. Strange lead their own team.