Guardians 3’s Rotten Tomatoes score does not match its high praising reactions

Following its mega World Premiere, the review embargo on Guardians 3 has finally been lifted. However, what is surprising is that not all the reviews are as positive as suggested by the early reactions, some of which even went as far as calling the film “the best MCU movie in years.”

However, these reactions do not seem to tie up with the film's Rotten Tomatoes score until now. With the way Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was praised in its early reactions, the film should have scored more than 90%. In reality, the numbers are telling a different story.

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Rotten Tomatoes score for Guardians 3 is positive, but...

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Rotten Tomatoes score (Image via Rotten Tomatoes)

At the time of writing this article, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 had 82% fresh reviews out of 92 reviews in total. While this is still a very good score for any movie, after receiving high praise and even being called the "best MCU movie since Endgame," the reviews do not really match the claim, which is proof that not everyone is finding Chris Pratt's latest film to be top-notch.

As for the last two Guardians outings, Vol. 2 had an 85% fresh RT score and the first one scored 92% fresh reviews. Hence, it can be estimated that Vol. 3’s score will end up in around the same band as Vol. 2, which is not worrisome at all.

But from here on, what fans think will matter the most, because it’s their word of mouth that will allow Guardians 3 to succeed at the box office.

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Guardians 3’s box office projections

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Image via Marvel)

Reports have suggested that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will make around $130 million in its first 3 days at the domestic box office. This is higher than the first film, which opened with $94.3 million and went on to make $333.7 million domestically and $773 million worldwide.

The projections, however, are lower than Vol. 2, which had an opening intake of $146.5 million and ended its total run with $389 million from North America and $863 million globally. So, with its current box office projections, Box Office Pro reported that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 might take home somewhere between $288 - $403 million domestically.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Image via Marvel)

Worldwide numbers depend on a lot of factors that cannot be predicted. But the good thing for Vol. 3 is that it has secured a Chinese release date. The first and the second Volume made $86 million and $100 million, respectively from China.

So, Guardians 3’s Chinese performance and worldwide numbers could also range between Volumes 1 and 2’s financials. But a lot will depend upon the film's second-weekend box office drop. If the movie ends up dropping around 60%, then it could end up being another Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

On the other hand, if the drop is less than or equal to 50% of its opening, then the good word of mouth will have worked its charm and Guardians 3 could go on to be a global success.

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James Gunn’s final Guardians outing hits theaters on May 5.