Thor: Love and Thunder crushed all of the competition this weekend with a $143 million debut, despite less than stellar reviews of the new Taika Waititi film.
Love and Thunder also cemented itself as the highest opening for a solo Thor film, delivering the third biggest opening of the year behind Jurassic World: Dominion ($145 million) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($187 million).
The latest Thor film is also projected to surpass Thor: Ragnarok’s $315 million domestic haul, but it may have a tougher time matching Ragnarok’s $854 million worldwide total. Love and Thunder has already picked up an additional $159 million overseas, so we will see how the hammer-swinging duo fares the rest of the summer.
One hurdle for Thor’s continued success may be lower than average audience and critical data points, such as a 68% Rotten Tomatoes score (considerably lower than Ragnarok’s 93%) and a B+ CinemaScore. While many blockbusters tend to be review-proof out of the gate, robust second and third weekends do tend to rely on positive word of mouth (such as the current 2022 and summer box office champ, Top Gun: Maverick).
Last week’s winner, Minions: The Rise of Gru, came in second with $45.6 million for a current total of $210 million.
The aforementioned Top Gun: Maverick delivered $15.5 million for third place, adding to the film’s gaudy $597 million domestic numbers and a high-flying $1.184 billion worldwide cume.
The dinosaurs of Jurassic World: Dominion came in fifth place with $8.4 million, bringing their total to $350 million. With $876 million globally, it is clear that people still love the thunder lizards.
Be sure to check back next week for an update on the Mighty Thor’s box office exploits.