It was never in doubt that Thor: Love and Thunder would open big at the box office, but just how high did it soar? It’s looking to earn $145 million, a little on the lower side of projections which saw the film opening in the $140-$165M range. Earning $148M outside of the U.S. and Canada, Love and Thunder will have accumulated $300M overall.
Back to the domestic box office, Love and Thunder marks the third-highest opening of 2022, behind Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($187.4M) and Jurassic World: Dominion ($145M). However, this is the biggest opening for a Thor movie, topping Thor: Ragnarok’s $212M debut.
Needless to say, this is Taika Waititi’s biggest premiere. Then again, he made his name with Ragnarok and has only made one other movie since, Jojo Rabbit, which was never intended to be a blockbuster. This also marks Natalie Portman’s best opening, topping Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith ($108M).
The reviews and reactions are lower than expected. Its Rotten Tomatoes critical score is a passing grade of 68%, while its audience score is a much better 81%. Exiting audiences gave it a B+, the same as Multiverse of Madness and slightly ahead of Eternals which received a B. Via PostTrak, audiences gave it 3½ stars out of five and a 77% positive, just slightly higher than Eternals‘ 75%.
And let’s be honest, Eternals was one of Marvel’s poorest-received movies since the early days. To say audiences like Love and Thunder better than that isn’t really saying much. Similarly, Multiverse of Madness got a mixed reception. But Love and Thunder seemed to have a lot more going for it than either. Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is one of the last OG MCU characters still kicking. It certainly seemed like it would appeal to a broader audience, including kids, more than the other two.
While at the time, Ragnarok was a certified crowd-pleaser and well-reviewed, I have noticed over time that many are turning their noses up at its (possibly overly) comedic tone and the shift from Thor being a serious and sometimes tragic figure to a kind of goofy himbo. (His “Bro Thor” turn in Endgame probably didn’t help with that.) And Love and Thunder leans even more heavily into Waititi’s somewhat silly sense of humor, which simply isn’t for everyone.
There has been a lot of talk about “Marvel fatigue” lately and there are just too many reasons for that to delve into here. But… it looks like it may be true. Maybe after 14 years, fans are simply getting tired of this brand.
Prior to Love and Thunder‘s release, social media monitoring service RelishMix hinted that there might be a reason to worry:
“Energy levels and tone run wildly mixed, leaning positive — as Thor chatter has returned to pre-pandemic cynicism, playfulness, and criticism from the MCU. Some wonder if this is a comedy, while others explain that this project swings from superhero to Taika Waititi-land improv playfulness. Other threads question if Chris Hemsworth is being overshadowed alone with adoration of the role, love for Christian Bale, and talk about Natalie Portman’s gender-bending role.”
Moving on, last week’s champ, Minions: The Rise of Gru dropped slightly more than 50% week-over-week to earn another $45.55M. Perhaps the year’s biggest surprise, Top Gun: Maverick continues to hold up, with $15.5M, taking the #3 spot. I expected a steeper drop for the eccentric Elvis biopic but it delivered $11M. Though the gap between Love and Thunder and The Rise of Gru is pretty vast and the gap between that flick and the other two Top Four movies is much greater, the fact that all four movies in the Top Four made over $10M is a rarity and indicates that the cinema industry is well on its way to recovery after the COVID pandemic.
Jurassic World: Dominion didn’t do quite as well, but it still rounded out the Top Five, which you can check out below:
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- Thor: Love and Thunder (Disney) 3-day $143M/Wk 1
- Minions: Rise of Gru (Universal) 3-day $45.55M, Total: $210M/Wk 2
- Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount) 3-day $15.5M, Total $597.4M/Wk 7
- Elvis (Warner Bros.) 3-day $11M, Total $91.1M/Wk 3
- Jurassic World Dominion (Universal) 3-day $8.4M, Total $350.3M/Wk 5
Hmmm, time for ANOTHER animated kids’ movie? Usually, the studios steer clear of Marvel movies unless they are absolutely counterprogramming, and Paramount’s Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank appears to be that.
I know this won’t open as big as The Rise of Gru which was the latest in a beloved franchise and actually attracted teens and others who grew up with it (see the recent social media trend of teens going to see it wearing suits). But Paws of Fury will likely do well enough to take the #2 spot from The Rise of Gru at the box office.
This is also produced by Nickelodeon Movies meaning this theatrical release is just a setup for an inevitable TV series and is meant to sell toys.
Did you head to the cinema this weekend? Will you be venturing out next weekend? What will you check out?
