The Hollywood summer movie season is happy with "Guardians of the galaxy vol. 2" which has opened to an estimated $145 million in North America to prove that a sequel can, at times, be a more paying proposition than the original.
The movie is directed by James Gunn and its opening take is 54 percent higher than the take in 2014 when the original was released with the intergalactic band of misfits portrayed by renowned actors of the likes of Zoe Saldana and Vin Diesel. It had earned $94 million in its first weekend.
How it became a top selling brand?
Fox News reports that "Guardians of the Galaxy" used to be one of the properties in the vaults of Marvel and it has now grown to be one of the biggest brands of the comic-book factory. “Guardians” was scheduled for release in August but the Walt Disney Co. brought it ahead to the first weekend in May which happens to be the same weekend it used to launch the summer season for the last decade.
The opening for "Guardians Vol. 2" is believed to be the second largest of the year and follows Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" that garnered $174.8 million to set a new trend. Normally, sequels fail to impress the discerning viewers but “Guardians Vol. 2” is turning out to be an exception.
The logic of sequels
On the subject of sequels, David Hollis, distribution chief for Walt Disney Co, expresses his opinion that sequels could make an impression if they are handled with care. If the quality is not up to the mark, the audience will reject it. Therefore, the intention should be to deliver the product that is fresh and exciting.
He sums it all up by saying that the objective should be to produce better quality movies that tell a story best.
Incidentally, "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" has received good reviews as well as ratings from critics and in two weeks of international release, it has made $269 million overseas. There are plans of a third "Guardians" movie in the pipeline.
The general observation is that sequels seldom come up to expectations because of the impression that the original has left in the minds of the audience. It is normal to make comparisons between the original and the sequel and in a majority of cases, the latter bites the dust. It depends on the director and his team on how to make a sequel score over the original and “Guardians Vol. 2” appears to have succeeded on this count. It goes to show that a sequel can be better than the original and the team must continue with the trend.
