Marvel Studios appears to have another hit on its hands.
Thor: Love and Thunder debuted last week, and the fourth installment of the series centered on the eponymous thunder god and key Avenger has already earned $302 million globally. Deadline pointed out in its coverage that this is the third best weekend for any Hollywood movie during the pandemic. Thor: Love and Thunder’s earnings also make it the second best of the year, only behind Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which releases for Blu-ray later this month.
Domestic earnings for Thor: Love and Thunder are pegged at $143 million thus far, $29 million of which came solely from Thursday previews, according to a report from Box Office Mojo. This is not as great as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which managed to open domestically with $187 million, but it still marks one of the bigger successes for the franchise, beating the previous installment, Thor: Ragnarok, by 16%.
Thor: Love and Thunder doesn’t seem to be doing too well with professional critics, however. The film starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Christian Bale only has a Tomatometer rating of 68% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is arguably low for a Marvel film. But audiences seem to be having a good time, with thousands of ratings thus far that have culminated in an Audience Score of 81%.
Thor: Love and Thunder is the fourth installment of Marvel Studios’ live-action take on the character and the 29th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Christian Bale, who plays villain Gorr the God Butcher in the movie, has told interviewers that he took on the role largely because his kids wanted him to do it. Thor: Love and Thunder also sees the return of Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, who wields Mjölnir, Thor’s iconic hammer, in the film.
On a like-for-like basis, Thor and the gang scored the 11th best MCU debut of all time globally, 19% ahead of Thor: Ragnarok. In overseas terms, this is the 9th best MCU launch, coming in 29% ahead of Ragnarok; and is also the 3rd highest international opening weekend posted by any Hollywood title of the pandemic.
Also looking at like-for-like offshore markets at current exchange rates, the bow has Thor: Love And Thunder estimated to be 38% ahead of Top Gun, 23% ahead of Jurassic World Dominion, and 32% below Doctor Strange 2.
Source: Deadline