Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Earns Record-High Score in Test Screening

In one of Marvel Studios’ recent internal test screenings, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 earned the highest score any movie from the studio has ever seen, according to THR: a perfect 100 out of 100.

The space-set sequel is said to have topped the high-90s scores of the previous record-holders, Joss Whedon’s The Avengers and Shane Black’s Iron Man 3. After the test showing, each audience member is asked to rate the film on a scale from 1 to 100, making an average of 100 seem quite impressive, especially since this has been the studio’s practice since the first Iron Man movie in 2008.

To be fair, however, Marvel conducts their test screenings a bit differently from other studios. They make use of what they call “friends and family screenings.” While we don’t know the exact identity of each test-viewer, it doesn’t seem likely that they were randomly pulled off the street, which is how most other studios assemble these types of audiences. Still, given that the sample size and general type of audience member remain likely unchanged since Marvel’s previous efforts, the record-high score should still be read as a good sign.

James Gunn, director of the first Guardians movie (which ended up grossing a massive $773 million worldwide), returned to helm the second along with stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Bradley Cooper. This time around, names like Pom Klementieff (Spike Lee’s Oldboy remake), Elizabeth Debicki (The Night Manager, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) and Kurt Russell join the fold.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy 2 hits theaters on May 5. Go ahead and check out the movie’s recent Super Bowl spot below.