Despite being labelled as a risky proposition, Guardians of the Galaxy has contineud Marvel Studios’ fine run of form at the box office, pulling in almost $620 million since its release at the start of August. And with that return, it has also helped Marvel to reach a landmark by pushing the cumulative worldwide gross of the Marvel Cinematic Universe beyond $7 billion.

By close of play on Wednesday, the ten films of the MCU have earned $7.004 billion combined, second only to Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter franchise, which currently sits on $7.709 billion from eight films. Marvel will of course shatter that total next year with the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron in May, while Ant-Man will further extend its lead in July. WB does have a planned Harry Potter spin-off trilogy based around Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to try and regain the top spot, but with Doctor Strange, Captain America 3, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and a further five as-yet-unannounced Marvel movies – including The Avengers 3 – all on the horizon, it looks like the MCU is going to find itself the runaway leader over the next few years.