The highly anticipated release of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is upon us, and early tracking suggests the film is poised to have a strong opening weekend, with a projected start of $110M at 4,450 theaters.
However, there are some concerns that the film may not perform as well as initially expected due to mixed chatter on social media.
According to social media analytics firm RelishMix , some critics have voiced their dissatisfaction with the film’s trailer, calling it the “worst cut trailer” in MCU history and questioning the use of a “bland” performance instead of the Bee Gees for the soundtrack.
Some have even gone so far as to label it a knock-off. However, there is also a lot of positive buzz surrounding the film, with fans calling the Guardians franchise the best in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and expressing their reluctance to see it come to an end.
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Despite the mixed reaction, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has a massive social media reach, with 704 M views across TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, putting it on par with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and ahead of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Additionally, the film’s viral reposting rate is a massive 42:1.
GOTG3 received a significant boost in social media engagement after a pre-game Super Bowl spot, which generated 134.1M views across all platforms, outpacing other highly anticipated releases like Warner Bros.’ The Flash and Universal’s FastX.
RelishMix notes that the film’s cast activation levels are exceptional, with an overall impact of 349.9M, including social media icon Vin Diesel at 200.4M, Chris Pratt at 61.9M, Dave Bautista at 17.1M, Zoe Saldana at 16.6M, and Maria Bakalova at 460K. Director James Gunn himself has 4.6M followers on social media.
While early tracking suggests that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will have a strong opening weekend, it remains to be seen whether the mixed chatter on social media will have an impact on its overall box office performance.
Regardless, the film’s massive social media reach and strong cast activation levels are a testament to the enduring popularity of the Guardians franchise and the excitement surrounding the film’s release.
Read more: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Gets Colorful Posters to Celebrate Launch of Ticket Sales
