<P> The world premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy was held on July 21, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood . The film was released theatrically in the United Kingdom on July 31, 2014, and in the United States on August 1, in 3D and IMAX 3D . The film was released in 4,080 theaters in the United States, making it the widest August release, breaking the five - year record held by G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (4,007 theatres). The breakdown of venues was: 354 IMAX screens, 3,200 3D screens, 350 large format screens and 240 D - Box screens . In its sixth weekend, Guardians of the Galaxy was playing in 69 territories, its most . </P> <P> In June 2014, Gunn stated that the film had always been planned as a 3D film, and "Unlike many directors, I've been actively involved with converting every shot to 3D, making sure it works perfectly for the story and the film, making sure it's spectacular and immersive without being silly, distracting, or overly showy ." Gunn also revealed that the IMAX 3D version would include shifting aspect ratios, to make the viewing experience "even fuller and more encompassing . I've personally chosen all the places where the changes occur...The changing aspect ratios in this case are actually a part of the storytelling ." In July 2014, Gunn revealed that there were multiple scenes he had cut from the film, and he was investigating how to release them, either in an extended cut of the film, or as bonus features on the film's home media release . </P> <P> At Disney's D23 Expo in August 2013, Feige presented footage first revealed at the San Diego Comic - Con in July 2013 . The first trailer for the film debuted on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on February 18, 2014, with a special introduction by Chris Pratt . The Los Angeles Times said the trailer delivered "some spirited alien action, with exploding spaceships and muscled bad guys, not to mention a few purely comedic moments," while spotlighting "a number of the offbeat characters ." Total Film noted the similarity of the trailer's opening clip to the 1981 film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, which Gunn stated was a big influence for Guardians, and made note of the "edgy" humor used throughout . Total Film also noted the similarity of the trailer to the one debuted at Comic - Con and D23, with a few new shots featuring Nebula and the Collector . Social media response to the trailer was strong, with 88,000 mentions across Twitter, Facebook and various blogs in a 12 - hour period . Those numbers were comparable to trailers for other superhero films like Man of Steel and The Amazing Spider - Man 2, and noteworthy for the late night - time period in which it premiered . The trailer received 22.8 million views in the 24 hours after it debuted . After the debut of the trailer, Blue Swede's version of "Hooked on a Feeling", which was prominently used throughout the trailer, went up 700% in sales the following day . The line from Serafinowicz's character, "What a bunch of a-holes", was only intended to be featured in the trailers, but due to its positive reception, was included in the final cut of the film . Gunn noted that a different teaser was almost released "that was very cheesy (and) sold the movie as something different than what it was", as it tested better than the version that was ultimately released . Gunn credited the marketing teams at Marvel and Disney for having faith in the latter version, despite how it tested, over choosing the version that would have mis - marketed the film . </P> <P> In March 2014, the Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode "T.A.H.I.T.I." introduced the Kree race to the MCU, which began a storyline that recurs throughout the series and involves finding a hidden Kree city . Also in March, ABC aired a one - hour television special titled, Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe, which included a sneak peek of Guardians of the Galaxy . Starting in April 2014, a two - part comic was released, titled Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Prelude . Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, with art by Wellington Alves, the first issue focused on the background of Nebula and her bond with Thanos; the second issue featured the adventures of Rocket and Groot before they join forces with the other Guardians . In June 2014, Mike Pasciullo, senior VP of Marvel Studios, described the marketing approach for Guardians of the Galaxy by saying that Marvel had "built a robust marketing program for the theatrical release that carefully integrates traditional advertising, social media, digital marketing, strategic promotional partnerships, organic entertainment integrations (and) publicity ." </P>

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