“Thor: Love And Thunder” Scores Big With Opening Weekend

At this point, it shouldn’t be shocking that a Marvel movie is doing well at the box office. Avengers: Endgame is the second highest-grossing film of all time. Spiderman: Far From Home was a massive hit, becoming the first Spiderman movie to surpass $1 billion at the worldwide box office. The new Doctor Strange entry was also a success, despite receiving a more mixed reception and being banned in Saudi Arabia.

It’s no surprise, then, that Thor: Love and Thunder is crushing at the box office for its opening weekend. The film took in $143 million in the North American box office, along with another $159 million internationally, making its grand sum $302 million.

Chris Hemsworth and Taika Waititi

Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Love and Thunder has out-performed its predecessor, Thor: Ragnarok, which opened to $123 million in North America, even though the 2017 film received more positive reviews than director Taika Waititi’s second go at the Norse god. It’s the fourth entry overall in the Thor series.

The weekend at the box office has been generally heartening for theaters. “It’s noteworthy that this weekend will reflect a level of normalcy at the box office that has been building since the beginning of the summer movie season with a diverse selection of hits from the superhero, action, comedy, family, indie, and horror genres that are now joined by ‘Thor: Love And Thunder,’” said Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at Comscore, in an interview with CNBC.

It’s been a lucrative summer so far for Hollywood. Top Gun: Maverick kicked off the blockbuster season with an incredibly strong start, becoming the biggest opening weekend of Tom Cruise’s career.

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