Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3″ has opened with a strong domestic box office debut, grossing $114 million in its opening weekend. Despite falling short of expectations, which were set at $120 million, the film has secured the second-biggest opening weekend of the year, behind “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which grossed $146 million.

The latest installment in the Marvel trilogy, which follows a group of intergalactic misfits, is a step down from its predecessor, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” which grossed $146 million in its opening weekend in 2017. However, it is an improvement on the first “Guardians of the Galaxy” film, which debuted with $94 million in 2014.

Premium large formats, such as Imax and Dolby, accounted for 40% of the film’s opening weekend ticket sales. Imax alone contributed $10.7 million in North America and $25 million globally. Rich Gelfond, the CEO of Imax, expressed confidence in the film’s potential, stating that he expects the strong audience response to yield a long and successful run at the box office.

However, the next few weeks will be crucial for “Vol. 3” as it faces competition from other summer blockbusters, such as “Fast X” and “The Little Mermaid.” The film will need to sustain its momentum to avoid the same fate as “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” another Marvel installment that had a strong opening with $106 million earlier this year but failed to reach $500 million worldwide, ultimately ending the trilogy on a low note. This has reinforced the narrative that Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe is struggling to maintain its status as an A-list franchise.