More women watched ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ than any other Marvel flick

Chris Pratt

Guardians of the Galaxy easily kicked it to the tune of $90 million at the box office this weekend. Chris Pratt stepped out yesterday for a few victory laps in the Trader Joe’s parking lot. Wow. I will accept photos of Pratt’s deltoids grabbing groceries. I’m running about a week behind on movies I want to see (as opposed to the ones for review) and will catch Guardians soon. These guns are a nice incentive to make good and get there.

Box Office Mojo reports an interesting exit poll tidbit. The audience for this film was 44% female, which is massive for a superhero movie. The previous record was briefly held by last year’s The Avengers (40%). With all of the hot dudes in that movie (Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Hiddles, and Robert Downey Jr.) Guardians still wooed more women.

Everything Marvel does is turning up gold, so there’s a trustworthy brand at work. I’m still going to ask the obvious question — which actor will get the most credit for reeling in the female audience? Was it Zoe Saldana? Her Gamora character kicks ass, but Zoe herself is a bit abrasive. Was it the foul-mouthed Rocket Raccoon? He has some fans. More likely than not, the female audience was excited about seeing Pratt’s big-screen transformation. The boy worked it. All of that talk about body image and French braiding was a genius strategy. The nice thing is that it doesn’t even feel like a strategy. Chris is really that dude, and he does his own grocery shopping too.

P.S. Guardians opened bigger than Thor ($85 mil) and almost as big as Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($95 mil). I think Chris Pratt has officially joined the A list. Now he can really put that Star-Lord costume to good use.

Chris Pratt

Zoe Saldana

Bradley Cooper

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, posters courtesy of Marvel Studios

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91 Responses to “More women watched ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ than any other Marvel flick”

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  1. Jen says:

    I’m so sick of superhero movies.

    Obviously I’m in the minority, but whatever, I’m perfectly fine never watching them. I was forced through Avengers and fell asleep half way through. Just a bunch of men with big muscles making snarky comments to each other. Boring.

    • DJ says:

      I feel the same way. Maybe it’s because I was never into comic books, but I just prefer movies with real people and real stories, not characters in space or whatever.

    • don't kill me i'm french says:

      I’m tired of superhero movies because there are too many superhero movies released.

    • mom2two says:

      I saw this and it was entertaining. I think critics are really giving it a free pass because it’s a Marvel movie. Chris Pratt is funny but his character is the love child of Andy Dwyer (the one he plays in Parks and Rec) and Malcolm Reynolds. I don’t think he had to stretch acting muscles for this one. Zoe Saldana’s Gamora could have used some development. The characters who made the movie for me were Rocket, Groot and Drax. There are sweet scenes between Groot and Rocket and between Drax and Rocket. I think the ingredients are there to make a sequel that will beat this one by a mile, should the folks behind the scenes take it. The soundtrack was better than the movie and I saw a matinee so I was glad I paid matinee prices and not full price. I think this did so well because it had no competition this weekend.

      • Kimmy says:

        I got the impression that that was the reason Pratt was chosen for Starlord. They wanted a funny, cute, “Everyman” to play the character. So no, there wasn’t much of a transformation, but his personality still worked well for the character he was playing.

      • BestJess says:

        “Chris Pratt is funny but his character is the love child of Andy Dwyer (the one he plays in Parks and Rec) and Malcolm Reynolds”

        I wasn’t planning on seeing it coz superheros aren’t really my thing but that character combo sounds really appealing

    • Happyhat says:

      I’m with you guys…

      I was done with Spider Man 2. I don’t care about the Avengers, and QUITE FRANKLY I felt duped into watching it because everyone was all OOOH JOSS WE WUUUVVVVV YOU and I was like, well maybe he managed to make something entertaining.

      No, no he did not. Avengers was boring. There, I said it. BORING. DULL. TEDIOUS with about 10 minutes of actual interesting footage.

      I should know by now not to fall into the ‘Joss Whedon is GOD’ black hole. (I enjoyed Cabin in the Woods very much though)

      Maybe it’s cos I don’t care about those superheroes, but I don’t think that’s it. I really don’t have much care for superheroes in general, and yet I thoroughly enjoy Christopher Reeve’s Superman, Tim Burton’s Batmans, Heath Ledger’s Joker Batman one (can’t remember the name). They were for me, entertaining as well as fun.

      These Marvell Avenger ones are just… *yawn* *zzzzzzz* “Wait, what?!!! That’s b***s***!!”

      There, I feel better now…*relaxes*

      This Guardian’s of the Galaxy though… I’m tempted. But I just don’t know. I’ve been hurt before!!!!

      • eliza says:

        I agree. TheAvengers was super boring.

      • manda says:

        ITA. Just wanted to pipe in on this, because it is not generally a popular opinion

      • Mrs. Darcy says:

        + a million. I am not a fan of most of the recent superhero films, Avengers being top of the list. I thought Loki was a big camp hammy villain and so did not get the Hiddleston fuss (ducks and goes into witness protection!). The only thing I liked in it was Mark Ruffalo, and that’s because he makes everything better, but it still was not enough to make me want to see the sequel.

    • lucy2 says:

      I’m not a big fan of all the Marvel movies either. There’s too many and they all blend together in my head, and while I liked the Avengers OK, I never thought it was the amazing movie people made it out to be.

      That said, I am interested in seeing this one and am glad it did so well (bigger than Thor!). I like Chris, and it seems a little different, a little more off beat than the usual Marvel comic movies. It’s gotten great reviews, and is a story most probably aren’t familiar with. It feels like they took a little risk with this one, and it’s paid off well.

    • eliza says:

      Me too. Other than when I took my dad to see Captain America:Winter Soldier a few months back, the only way I see these movies are when they hit HBO or Netflix and I have nothing better to do.

      I cannot stand Chris Pratt or Zoe Dulldana so this will definitely not be something I watch even when it comes to cable.

    • Shantal says:

      This movie was more like a space opera (ala Star Wars, The Fifth Element, etc.) than superhero movie.

  2. me says:

    I’d like to watch this film, but when it comes out on DVD…not a big fan of going to the cinemas. It doesn’t look like your typical Marvel movie, it’s a little different I’d say. Now that the movie has come out and promotion is over, will Chris gain the weight back? He said in an interview he had to keep that body until promo was over.

    • LadyMTL says:

      I saw it this past Friday and I actually really liked it, and I’m not a Chris Pratt fan or anything. Still, he does a really good job with the character, and I think it’s one of the most original superhero movies in a long time.

      That said, I would not have gone to see it just because of Pratt, because I don’t care that much about him, lol.

  3. Allison says:

    I went yesterday. I went mainly for Pratt. I was not disappointed. I may be obsessed now. More Pratt posts please.

    • Sunny says:

      I loved it! It was a great mix of Space Balls, Star Wars(A New Hope), and the Marvel films that came before it.

      Loved the humour, and more than that loved the dynamic that was built between the characters.

      And yes, Chris Pratt all day. I find his great strengths are his warmth, his silliness, and how he can play a man out of his depth really well. The script had all those elements and so his performance really worked for me. And the singing… and dancing.

  4. TheOriginalKitten says:

    Ugh. That smirk infuriates me.

    Something nice: I love that he’s using his own grocery bags instead of paper or plastic.

    • FingerBinger says:

      I still don’t get all the Chris Pratt love,but I like that he uses his own bags too and that he’s shopping at Trader Joe’s and not Whole Foods.

    • M.A.F. says:

      Thank f**k I’m not the only one! I still cannot pin point what it is that rubs me the wrong way about him. Maybe it does start w/that smirk.

    • mytbean says:

      What’s funny about the smirk is that it didn’t bother me when he was fluffy but now that he’s all plucked turkey it does. It’s cocky… and cocky really annoys me – but more so disappoints me because his previous role in Parks and Rec was humble and goofy but definitely not smug.

      This is all an illusion though – I have to remember that. Because the dude was a stripper before all this. I’m sure he knows how to switch from submissive and sweet to “come and get it ladies” in a blink. 😛

  5. Alexis says:

    I’m genuinely surprised that this movie did that well. However, I can see how a lot of women would watch Chris Pratt. He’s hot in a way that’s boy-next-door and accessible. Plus, he seems like a cool and funny guy.

  6. jinni says:

    A-list? IDK, I would think that if he could open up a move that doesn’t have a built in fan base and wasn’t so anticipated than he really is A-list, because this movie would have done well even if he wasn’t in it. Plus more people were talking about the Raccoon than his character, so I don’t think he (as an actor) is the reason why most went. But in this day and age when being a true movie star is getting harder and harder I guess this would be considered an a-list making moment.

  7. Alexi says:

    It was not Zoe…

    • phlyfiremama says:

      Hahaha, that is EXACTLY what I thought too! Literally “nope, definitely not because of HER”. We went to see Lucy this weekend, which was excellent. ScarJo was wonderful. It is interesting that Guardians did so well with females~my Husband is not at all interested in seeing it, I kind of want to see it. So anybody that saw it, was it any GOOD?

      • Lilacflowers says:

        It was silly but lots of fun with lots and lots of references to all sorts of other movies, not just Marvel films

      • Sunny says:

        So much silly fun! Reminded me of Space Balls with terrific visuals and some excellent action sequences.

      • Kimmy says:

        Yes, it is way closer to Space Balls than it is to a Marvel Superhero movie. It was pretty funny.
        Zoe Saldana for me is replaceable in anything that she is cast in ( except maybe Center Stage..haha!). She was more of a weak link than Vin Diesel who had one line the entire film!

    • andypandy says:

      Cant tell her that though she’s been selling tickets to herself it seems like since she was born LOL

    • lvk1978 says:

      I absolutely loved it! Everyone was wonderful, but extra kudos to Chris (totes adorable), Bautista (didn’t know he had it in him) and Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper for their amazing voice work. I never read or heard of Guardians of the Galaxy until I saw them on the Sunday morning Spider-Man cartoon show on Disney (Yes, this *56*-year-old woman STILL watches and enjoys Marvel cartoon shows!) and really enjoyed the episode. When I heard they were making a movie, I knew I’d be there on opening weekend and I definitely had FUN watching the movie. My entire family enjoyed the movie and Marvel/Disney is definitely gonna get some repeat business from all of us. This is one movie that I can’t wait to own on Blu-Ray.

      It seems I’m very much in the minority here, but I puffy heart superhero movies. I read comics when I was in college (Spider-Man, Thor, X-Men, Avengers, Superman, etc.), so I guess that you can say that I’m a Marvel girl from way back. I love that all my favorites are on the big screen and I will gladly support anything that Marvel/Disney cares to throw my way. Personally, I can’t wait for the Avengers come May 2015. Sorry for all the gushing, but I’m one of those people who can’t wait to find Stan Lee and I stay around for the “last joke” scene after the credits. J/S.

      • I Choose Me says:

        I’m with you. I fricking loved the movie and Marvel will definitely be getting my money for the forseeable future. Looking forward to Avengers: Age of Ultron.

    • Dommy Dearest says:

      As a comic fan, Zoe was even worse casting for a BA character than ScarJo for Widow.

  8. Lady Macbeth (Hiddles F) says:

    Bit tired about superhero movies, however Chris Pratt is likeable enough to get the DVD when it is out in six months or so.

  9. GIRLFACE says:

    It is seriously adorable he French braids. End of story.

  10. InvaderTak says:

    I would give more credit to the racoon then to Pratt. It’s all about the fuzziness.

    Edit: what is it’s name anyway?

    • DJ says:

      Wasn’t it Rocket?

    • Lilacflowers says:

      Rocket Raccoon. After seeing the movie, people are talking most about Vin Diesel’s Groot and the raccoon. Lee Pace is in this but his face is buried in make-up.

  11. Jane says:

    Women continue watching these superhero films but Hollywood still refuses to give a lady her solo film. So the studios won’t see a reason to change it. Why cater to women when they watch these films even when they are put aside.

    • word says:

      Even if they did give a woman a solo superhero film, she’d be half naked and overly sexualized the entire movie…it wouldn’t be something little girls could watch the way little boys can watch Superman or Spiderman….really not fair.

  12. Erinn says:

    I just don’t find Mark Ruffalo even vaguely attractive. He looks like a wealthier Kenny Hotz. And at least young Kenny had pretty eyes.

    I even googled young Mark Ruffalo – nope. Still not doing it for me.

  13. Jane says:

    Aww, I´m happy for him. I´ve liked him since Everwood.

  14. don't kill me i'm french says:

    Pratt looks happy to see paps.u

  15. Penelope says:

    Love him and will see the flick for that reason alone.

    Lucky Anna!

  16. Miss5280 says:

    I normally do not like action/sci-fi/superhero movies – but, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It was soooooo fun to watch. Also, I think I am in love with Chris Pratt now.

    ETA: I am sad about the lack of potential female Halloween costumes that could be inspired by the movie. I do not want to be green for Halloween. Also, I had no idea that Zoe S. was so incredibly skinny. She is teeny, tiny.

  17. Nick says:

    Geez he’s so smug. This is the guy who is suppose to be likable and charming?

  18. Ali J says:

    Rocket and Groot were great in the movie!

    Pratt was hilarious and Zöe was fine.

    Women went out to see it because…….
    (no idea).

    • Anne tommy says:

      Me neither. Am sure Pratt is fine in it but he looks like ” another not that interesting generic hunky boy” to me- but if he’s good in the part good for him. One review said that the best part of bradley cooper as the raccoon was that one did not have to see bradley cooper. A bit harsh I would have thought.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Harsh but true. At times I forgot it was him. The relationship between the raccoon and the tree was one of the best parts of the film.

    • Miss5280 says:

      …because there are no other movies out that are even mildly interesting.

    • chia says:

      …because not all women choose movies just because the guy in it is hot?

  19. R says:

    Rocket Raccoon! Cooper’s voice work was very impressive. He made me tear up.

  20. Leigh_S says:

    LOL I loved it.
    Loved the interaction between the characters;
    Zoe was solid if a little angsty, Karen Gillan was evilly enjoyable;
    Pratt, Dave Bautista, Rocket and Groot had me in stitches. Bautisa’s character’s literalness was endlessly entertaining.

    Chair-danced my way through the music 🙂

    • Kori says:

      I loved Dax. He was great. Loved Rocket and Groot. Diesel did a great job considering he had 4 different words to say. Inflected them differently to great effect.

      • I Choose Me says:

        And yes!

        Vin Diesel recorded ‘I am Groot’ one thousand times. All with different inflections.

        His ‘we are Groot’ near the end made me tear up.

    • I Choose Me says:

      Yes!

  21. Ashling says:

    I haven’t gone to see any of the Marvel movies in the theater, except this one. (I watch the DVDs.) I’d never heard of the comics before this movie. I suggested going with my husband this weekend because it looked funny and different. I think part of the charm is that they are all kind of lame morally grey characters. Pratt was really funny. The type of humor and the 80’s references set this one very much apart from the other Marvel movies. It didn’t take itself seriously. I loved it!

  22. An says:

    Yay for Chris. Love him! Going to see it tomorrow!

  23. Josefa says:

    I love Marvel films, tbh. I think they are entertaining and, other than Spiderman 2, I’ve never been dissapointed by one. They fulfill their role of being fun summer blockbusters. I take any Marvel movie over a Wilson/Vaughn/Sandler/UntalentedDoucheWithZeroCharisma unfunny comedy or a Aniston/Heigl/Hudson/AverageBlondeWithSubparTalent tacky romcom.

    I’ll go watch Guardians eventually. I’m not a fan of bulky guys but Chris is an exception. Now that I started watching Parks & Rec and more interviews of him… I kinda love him. He’s goofy, nice, funny and seems to take nothing too seriously. I’m a huge sucker for that attitude on a guy. I wish he gave more full on smiles, though… that smirk is eh.

  24. may23 says:

    LOL, I have the same exact grocery bag! I think everyone in LA does thanks to Ralph’s!

  25. Suzy from Ontario says:

    This was such a fun movie! I absolutely loved it and everyone in it was great. Chris Pratt is awesome. Not your usual superhero movie at all!

  26. Irishserra says:

    Well yeah, Chris Pratt was pretty adorable in the film… But he’ll always be Andy Dwyer to me. Seriously, I can’t even reconcile him with his character in Everwood anymore.

  27. Jess says:

    I’m a geek and like all of the Marvel movies but I think why this one did well with women (and did so well in general) is because it didn’t seem like a testosterone-fueled guyfest. Instead, it’s got a kick-a** woman in it, an adorable yet sexy guy, and some quirky characters, so its appeal is much broader (and it doesn’t have Ironman, thank god – I’m so tired of his snarkiness!).

  28. MonicaQ says:

    Female, life long comic nerd, saw it, loved it. I guess I’m in the minority of this site that still gets stoked over Marvel movies lol.

    • Dommy Dearest says:

      Nerd here with you. We can have our excitement. Most of the posters here are looking forward the the 50 shades movie. If that tells you anything.

  29. Maria of MD says:

    My Mom and I want to see it this Wednesday because it looks like fun. That simply.

  30. Miss M says:

    I really liked rocket and groot. I am glad some if the actors from “ever wood” have been in marvel movies. It will give them more exposure for future projects.

  31. Grant says:

    Well smack my ass and call me a b!tch, I was NOT ready for those pectorals this morning/afternoon. Thank ya LAWD! He’s looks better here than he did in the movie (if that’s even possible).

  32. paranormalgirl says:

    I went because of Karen Gillan. And I was glad I did!

  33. mommak918 says:

    he is seriously hunky and adorable. I havent went to a movie in 3 years but I plan to go to this movie soon! love Chris Pratt and I’ve heard only great things from friends and family that saw it, too!

  34. Dawn says:

    I like Chris Pratt and will watch him in almost anything! He seems to be a good guy and that seems hard to be in Hollywood.

  35. Mrs.Krabapple says:

    Most people seemed to like Rocket and Groot the best (with kids especially liking Groot). Just my unscientific observations.

    • M.A.F. says:

      I started to cry over a tree. A tree that says the same damn line over and over again. I cried.

      • I Choose Me says:

        There, there. I cried too.

        But how cute was that scene at the end with the dancing?

  36. M.A.F. says:

    I saw it yesterday. It was a bit too long & Lee Pace is covered in blue makeup so I couldn’t really see his lovely face but despite that, I enjoyed myself. Good times at the movies.

  37. Ella says:

    Are you kidding? It’s because an overwhelming amount of women love sci-fi, comic books, and marvel. Yes having Zoe and Karen Gillian can help because we love to be represented but if you seriously think women flocked to the theatres to see Chris Pratt’s abs you’re just a sexist idiot. Why did boys go to see this movie? Should we analyze it and say they just wanted to see Chris Pratt’s abs? Or check out Zoe? Or anything other reason suggesting they couldn’t possibly be interested in the source material? No? That’s disgustingly and so obviously sexist. Women invented the Sci-fi genre. A woman wrote the god damn movie. If we weren’t so often antagonized and called “fake geek girls” or turned into sexist badly written “women” in movies we’d be attending in droves and be well over 50% of the superhero movie audience.

    • Bread and Circuses says:

      I just want to heartily applaud everything you just said.

      It was an enjoyable movie. Why did women go to see it? Because it was an enjoyable movie.

    • Innie Outie says:

      Couldn’t agree more. I have zero interest in Pratt, but i usually try not to miss space-related sci-fi films (not sure if GOTG qualifies as sci-fi but nevermind) and i have been a huge sci-fi geek since childhood.

    • StaceyP says:

      THIS! This times a thousand. I could not have said it better.

      Simply put, women like Sci Fi!

      You know it’s bad enough when men are sexist to us, can we please stop being sexist to ourselves? Please?

  38. allheavens says:

    Saw it this weekend. and it’s really not a superhero film. Not a coherent plot in sight and the two big narrative reveals could be seen from a galaxy away but somehow it worked.

    I think the camaraderie between the characters sold the film, an aspect that previous Marvel films have failed to capture.

    I had fun at the movies (haven’t in a long time) and a tree made me cry. Go figure.

  39. Bucky says:

    My best friend and I went this weekend because our boyfriends are and have been huge fans of the comics – Rocket Raccoon has been my boyfriend’s favorite Marvel character for ages. Normally, we’d skip the superhero movies and let them geek out on their own, but this one looked like it had enough levity and entertainment for the Guardian-uninitiated that we could get through it with them.

    I liked it – didn’t love it, but I liked it, and I laughed several times. Groot has one of my favorite scenes in the movie; it doesn’t have any dialog at all and I think it got the biggest laugh of the movie. Rocket and Drax are funny, too, especially with the whole literal vs. metaphor running gag.

    I did find myself going back and forth trying to remember the names of the good guys and the bad guys, because there are several of each, and of varying degrees, and because I have never read a comic book in my life, much less the Guardians series.

    Also, Chris Pratt, DAMN that gym time paid off. There is a shirtless scene that made it all worth it.

  40. GeekLuva says:

    Went opening day. I am obsessssed with Chris Pratt and Guardians now 🙂 That movie kicked so much ass!

  41. Leaflet says:

    I haven’t seen this film yet, but I do want to see it solely because Zoe Saldana is in it.

  42. Innie Outie says:

    Watched it this past week-end. To be honest, i expected more, maybe it’s the very positive reviews i had read that are to blame. Based on those reviews, i thought GOTG would go all the Rolling Stones way and be *really*, unabashedly crazy. However, imo they fell short of that. I understand that PG-13 and Marvel brand probably do not encourage this kind of artistic freedom, but i can’t help feeling some sort of artificiality in the GOTG crazy which does not let me fully enjoy it.

    Also, some reviewers praised Pratt as the next big movie star and… i didn’t see it in him =( I thought he was likeable, but too straightforward and missing charisma for my taste.

  43. Mrs. Darcy says:

    I haven’t been to see it, I’m not a huger superhero fan & find The Avengers yawnsome, but I probably will go see this, based on a pre-disposition for Pratt’s work in Parks&Rec and dare I say it, Everwood. Everwood had a pretty fervent fan base back in the day so it’s possible that people just underestimated the Pratt effect hugely. Obviously fans of the comic made up the majority, but I do feel like this “Where did he come from?” attitude to Pratt is a bit mislead. This film just caught him at the right moment, and made more people want to go see it that might not normally. I truly don’t think Saldana had anything to do with it, sorry, but the ensemble cast as a whole is strong and interesting. Karen Gillan definitely pulled in some Whovians I’m sure. And the raccoon, how many live action films have raccoons?! It had good buzz before it came out, and the trailer was jazzy and funny and not your typical superhero looking film even for people who wouldn’t normally go see them, so I’m not hugely surprised it’s done well.

  44. kitty-bye says:

    I truly enjoyed this movie. I want a baby Groot! This is my favorite Marvel type movie. I wasn’t into any of the Marvel characters in the “other” movies. I wanted to see more of these characters & their adventures however! Fun. Yes, he is sexy!

  45. Dizzybenny says:

    saw it was ok 7 out of 10.
    3D was nothing special so don’t waste the x-tra money.
    It seems they couldn’t figure out to do a serious action film or a slapstick comedy with action.
    Batista was a big surprise, never really liked him as a wrestler but he’s not bad of an actor.
    They could have picked anyone to voice Groot it would not have change a thing.
    Bottom line is download it or watch it on DVD.
    Not worth the money!!

  46. Danielleisgodess says:

    I didn’t look at anyone’s comments on here like I usually do for laughs bc 1) they won’t be funny on this topic to me, just snarky and 2) Chris Pratt is my biggest celeb crush since I found out Ryan Reynolds secretly wants to lock women in basements and impregnate them all day. I think Chris and Ana faris are so cute together, and have been underrated as a potentially power couple until now. Also, no questions about would you hit it? A funny, personable, somewhat still insecure and suddenly buff guy? Just, how could you not?