44% of the Guardians Of The Galaxy audience was female, according to Box Office Mojo. Comparatively, no other Marvel film has achieved more than 40%, the mark reached by The Avengers. And that film debuted to more than twice the audience of Guardians, so clearly something about this project appealed more to the fairer sex than previous superhero smash-'em-ups.
Superhero movies often struggle to win women over. The market is male-dominated, and the movies tend to live or die on macho one-on-ones between men with fists, lasers and armies. Even while many of these films have the considerable beefcake of Chrises Evans and Hemsworth, that doesn't seem to be enough to lure women in. Marvel's better at this than some other franchises (a little Black Widow goes a long way), but they still seem to come up short. With Guardians Of The Galaxy , though, now it seems the company is trending in the right direction.
Maybe women need more women in their movies? Captain America's movies are basically all about Cap, and while Captain America: The Winter Soldier gave Black Widow plenty to do, in the end it is still about Cap. Thor so far has sidelined Dr. Jane Foster despite Natalie Portman's very vocal concerns about avoiding such a thing. And while Iron Man 3 actually passed the famed Bechdel Test, there's a certain billionaire philanthropist playboy (and a certain A-Lister) who dominates the material.
Guardians is still male dominated, but it does boast Zoe Saldana, who proved her bonafides countless times in films like Avatar and Star Trek. And there was that conflict between Gamora and adopted sister Nebula (Karen Gillan), one of the movie’s more relatable conflicts.
It also doesn’t hurt that the summer's hot new pinup may be Chris Pratt. Though he's only had supporting roles for the last few years, Pratt has a massive following of female fans from Parks And Recreation, a show that has courted a large fanbase of women over the course of six seasons. Audiences love his Andy Dwyer, a roly-poly dimwit with an intense romantic side. To see that Pratt shed big pounds to portray a more hunky hero was not lost on many. Throw in the twin pleasures of a talking raccoon and his tree friend, the appeal of which goes beyond sex, and suddenly you have what the industry calls a "four quadrant hit."
