After four films, Thor is still taking a beating at the box office.
“Thor: Love and Thunder” earned $143 million in its opening weekend in North America, according to studio estimates on Sunday. This is the best franchise for God of Thunder and another success story for the summer 2022 box office season.
The second Thor movie, directed by Taika Waititi, opened on 4,375 screens this weekend, starting with Thursday previews. It easily topped the box office, pushing “Minions: The Rise of Gru” into second place. Including international screenings, where “Love and Thunder” has opened in 47 territories since the middle of last week, its global total is now $302 million.
“This is another home run for Marvel,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “It’s unheard of for a Marvel movie not to rank first.”
The Thor franchise has grown with each successive film, which is both rare in franchise film production in general, but also not uncommon for those of Marvel’s ilk. The first film grossed $65.7 million in 2011, followed by $85.7 million for 2013’s “The Dark World” and $122.7 million for 2017’s “Ragnarok.” Waititi, who also directed “ Ragnarok,” is widely credited with rejuvenating the series, infusing it with humor, irreverence, and a penchant for a larger-than-life metal aesthetic.
Critics have skewed mostly positive, and the Rotten Tomatoes score is currently 68, and 53% are between the ages of 18 and 34, according to exit polls. IMAX reported that $23 million of the global total came from their screens.
“Love and Thunder” brings back Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson and Natalie Portman, whose Jane Foster becomes the Mighty Thor. Russell Crowe also stars as Zeus and Christian Bale as the villain Horus, the Butcher God. It also boasts the largest production budget of any of the Thor films, at a reported $250 million.
Still, it’s worth noting that Thor: Love and Thunder isn’t even Marvel’s biggest opening of the year. That title is held by “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” which debuted to $185 million in early May after the box office phenomenon that was “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”
Minions took second place with $45.6 million in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to $210.1 million and its worldwide cume to $399.9 million.
Summer workhorse “Top Gun: Maverick” placed third in its seventh weekend in theaters with $15.5 million. With its total currently at $597.4 million, the Tom Cruise film is poised to surpass $600 million by Monday — one of only 12 films ever to do so.
In limited release, the documentary “Fire of Love” opened this weekend in three locations and made an estimated $22,328, while Claire Denis’ “Both Sides of the Blade” earned $25,000 from four locations.
The weekend should gross about $236.1 million, which Dergarabedian said is “really impressive.”
“Every week the market is getting more pre-pandemic,” he said. “It feels like a traditional summer movie weekend. That’s a huge difference from a year ago.”
The summer 2022 box office continues to look good for Hollywood and theater owners alike, up 217% from last summer. The year as a whole passed the $4 billion mark last week, up 233% from last year, but still lagging the last year before the pandemic, 2019, by 30%.
“Audiences are embracing the movie theater experience with greater enthusiasm,” Dergarabedian said. “By now, every demographic is interested in returning to theaters. The challenge for cinemas in the future is simply to have enough new films.”
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final internal data will be released on Monday.
1. “Thor: Love and Thunder,” $143 million.
2. “Minions: Rise of Gru,” $45.6 million.
3. “Top Gun: Maverick,” $15.5 million.
4. “Elvis,” $11 million.
5. “Jurassic World: Dominion,” $8.4 million.
6. “The Black Phone,” $7.7 million.
7. “Lightyear,” $2.9 million.
8. “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On,” $340,000.
9. “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” $262,000.
10. “Mr. Malcolm’s List,” $245,416.
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