Box Office Battlefield: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ vs. ‘Get on Up’

The weekend warriors of August 1, 2014 includes Guardians of the Galaxy and Get on Up. Every week, movie studios select candidates to enter the glorious battlefield for your hard-earned dollars, Box Office Battlefield is here to help you decide which movie(s) will take priority over the others and determine who will be victorious.

Last weekend, Lucy ruled the box office against a testosterone fueled cinema. However, team Marvel is back at it again, and this time with a new group of superheroes looking to get their first big taste of big screen success. Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga! This is the Box Office Battlefield:

Guardians of the Galaxy (James Gunn) Rated PG-13 [121 min] – In the far reaches of space, an American pilot named Peter Quill finds himself the object of a manhunt after stealing an orb coveted by the villainous Ronan. Director: James Gunn Stars: Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, John C. Reilly, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, and Glenn Closee

Rotten Tomatoes Score: Critics – 92% • Audience – 93%

This is practically critic proof and will be one of the best cinematic adventures of the summer. Everyone will see this because it is a Marvel film. It won’t taint the brand, but will be a good test to see how far they can stretch the MCU fanbase.

“Guardians succeeds when it proves the Marvel formula is malleable; it fails when it discovers that formula is not yet malleable enough.” – Todd VanDerWerff (Vox)

“Part George Lucas and part Chuck Jones, Guardians of the Galaxy has enough scrappy heart and smart humor to make it seem like the best possible kind of product, one where the talent of all involved makes it easy to enjoy their hustle.” – James Rocchi (The Wrap)

Not too surprising, but a good win for a relatively unknown property to mainstream pop culture. SEE IT!

Get on Up (Tate Taylor) Rated PG-13 [138 min] – A chronicle of James Brown’s rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history. Starring Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Dan Aykroyd, and Viola Davis

Rotten Tomatoes Score: Critics – 76% • Audience – 78%

It’s got a decent cast and good music, but biopics are such a chore sometimes. Other critics seem to be so-so on it, but mostly positive.

“Reflective of James Brown’s invigorating, transcendent music, Tate Taylor’s Get on Up blares and bangs its way through the iconic soul singer’s life, kept on beat by star Chadwick Boseman’s explosive energy.” – Matt Patches (IGN Movies)

“Excruciating to see such bizarre personality dumped inside the homogenized Hollywood piping bag of pedestrian biopics, but sitting through two hours of a movie that never goes more than 10 minutes without a James Brown song is never going to be that bad.” – Vince Mancini (FilmDrunk)

I’m sure this will be up for a possible Golden Globe, but I can’t see this getting any other recognition. MATINEE IT!… or RENT IT!

A Marvel Studios movie is releasing this weekend. Who do you expect will come out on top? So as it stands, I believe the victor for this weekend shall be: