Marvel Studios' movies are known for breaking records of all kinds, but it turns out they were just awarded quite the unexpected and deadly honor. According to a recent study,James Gunn’sGuardians of the Galaxyis said to have the highest on screenbody countof any movie ever made. While there were definitely a few memorable deaths in the movie, none of which were overly violent, it is pretty shocking to hear that no other movie has ever had more deaths on screen than a movie that features a talking raccoon and a giant talking tree with a limited vocabulary.
The study was conducted byGoCompareand according to their findingsGuardains of the Galaxyfeatures an astonishing 83,871 deaths. The second closest movie isn’t even remotely close, which isDracula Untoldat a comparatively measly 5.6 thousand deaths.James Gunnseemed to be pretty comfortable with the record, as he took to his Facebook page to address it. Here is what he had to say.
“Wow. So according to this article, Guardians of the Galaxy is the “deadliest film of all time” with over 83k deaths on screen. For the record, the second “deadliest film of all time” is Dracula Untold at 5.6k - Return of the King is number four with 2.7k deaths on screen. That’s right - we have 78k more deaths than our closest rival. Um, hooray?”
The reason for the large number had to do with the 80,000Nova Corpspilots who are seen dying on screen as they attempt to protect the city from the Dark Aster. That is where the vast majority of those deaths come from and what attributes to the very high number. to arrive at the number, GoCompare looked at any movie that had more than 50 on screen deaths. As for what counted as a death? Well, if a character was stabbed, shot, mentioned as killed and never returned, blown up, thrown off a cliff and never heard from again or anything of that sort. Animals only counted if they were voiced by or played by a human, for those who may have been wondering. Many were quick to point out that inStar Wars: A New HopeAlderaan was blown up by theDeath Star, which would imply a whole lot more than 80,000 deaths, butJames Gunnaddressed that as well.
“P.S. For all of you writing about Alderan, etc, etc - it’s individual, ONSCREEN EXPIRATIONS, not implied deaths through seeing planets or cities exploding. You also see a lot of planets explode in theCollector’s museum. Stop trying to take this huge honor from me.”
There are many movies likeIndependence Dayor other movies in theStar Warsuniverse likeStar Wars: The Force Awakensthat surely have more deaths within the movie, but asJames Gunnnotes, the study focused on individual deaths. The reasonGuardians of the Galaxyqualifies is the almost odd loophole with the Nova Corps pilots. The ships are all technically piloted by individuals, even though they do join up to form a protective net at one point, which is what leads to so much death in a single moment in the movie.
It is also maybe worth noting that outside of the death,Guardians of the Galaxywas a massive hit at the box office. It set a record for an August opening in 2014, bringing in $94 million on its opening weekend. It went on to gross $773 million worldwide, which has led to a sequel that we are all eagerly awaiting next year. WillJames Gunnbe bringing us an equally shocking body count inGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2? Probably not, but we are sure he has some surprises in store for us. Here is the top 10 deadlist movies of all time.
- Guardians of the Galaxy - 83,871 Deaths
2. Dracula Untold - 5,687 Deaths
3. The SUm of All Fears - 2,922 Deaths
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - 2,798 Deaths
300: Rise of an Empire - 2,234 Deaths
The Lord of the rings: The Two Towers - 1,741 Deaths
7. The Matrix Revolutions - 1,647 Deaths
- The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies - 1,417 Deaths
