Superhero flick Guardians of the Galaxy has rocketed to the top of the Australian box office over the weekend with a marvellous debut of $6.552 million.

The latest movie from Marvel Studios was considered by many to be a bit of a gamble, considering its relatively unknown heroes, but it seems to have paid off with Guardians already raking in over US$300 million worldwide.

According to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia, Guardians of the Galaxy pushed Scarlett Johansson’s sci-fi thriller Lucy into second, while The Hundred-Foot Journey took No.3 just in preview screenings (it’s released nationally on August 14).

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Hercules, starring Dwayne Johnson, fell two places to fourth with newcomer And So It Goes, starring Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton, taking fifth spot.

Based on the sitcom, Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie fell three rungs to sixth, while fellow comedy Sex Tape also slipped two spots to No.7.

Sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, with Andy Serkis as ape leader Caesar, came in at No.8, four less than last weekend.

Meanwhile spooky thriller Deliver Us From Evil, starring Aussie Eric Bana, and A Most Wanted Man, one of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s final films, both fell three places to ninth and 10th respectively.