After passing the $200 million domestic box office milestone earlier this week, Guardians of the Galaxy became the top grossing movie released this summer over the weekend.

The Marvel Phase Two adventure, directed by James Gunn, has earned $251.8 million at the domestic box office in just four weeks, which is more than enough to surpass Michael Bay's Transformers: Age of Extinction, which was previously the top summer 2014 movie with $243.3 million. Guardians of the Galaxy will also become the top-grossing movie of all 2014 later this week, surpassing another Marvel movie, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which currently holds the top spot with $259.7 million.

After dropping to second place for the past two weekends, Guardians of the Galaxy returned to the top spot today with a $17.6 million fourth-weekend haul, beating out new releases If I Stay, When the Game Stands Tall and the box office winner for the past two weeks, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

However, Transformers: Age of Extinction still has the best worldwide box office take of the summer, grossing $1.05 billion, with its international take accounting for more than 75% of its global haul. Guardians of the Galaxy has currently taken in $489.4 million worldwide, although the film still hasn't opened in China or Japan yet. It remains to be seen if it can become the second 2014 movie to pass $1 billion globally.

Maleficent currently holds third place at the summer 2014 box office with $237 million domestic, followed by X-Men: Days of Future Past ($232.6 million) and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ($203.2 million).