As usual with every new Marvel movie that comes out,Thor: Love and Thunder’sopening weekend saw Taika Waititi’s second go at theMCUlead the box office with the added good news that Thor Odinson’s fourth movie is now the superhero’s best performer with a massive box office haul to boast.
Early screenings forLove and Thunderstarted as early as Wednesday in some parts of the world, while in the United States the film collected a hefty $29m in Thursday previews, already signaling a healthy premiere, at least from a commercial standpoint. As for the film’s artistic merits,Love and Thunderhas quickly become a divisive entry for MCU fans, withmany clearly preferring Waititi’s ownThor: Ragnarokand others claimingThe Dark Worldmight be better.
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Nevertheless, that won’t stop the god of thunder from securing some healthy profits for Marvel Studios now that it’s been confirmedLove and Thunder’sopening weekend in the U.S. saw it earn $143m at the box office. That narrowly beats the previous number obtained byRagnarokin 2017, $122.7m, and easily tops Chris Hemsworth’s first couple of movies,ThorandThor: The Dark World, which earned $65.7m and $85.7m, respectively — though adjusting inflationRagnarokwould still edge Thor’s latest adventure.
On a worldwide scale,Love and Thunderearned as much as $302m, meaning the movie is already quite close to becoming profitable against its estimated $350m costs, which accounts for both film budget and marketing expenses. Despite falling short ofDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’$185m opening weekend, or evenJurassic World Dominion($145m), Thor’s return to cinemas confirms the trend of a mostly recovered cinema industry thanks tofilms likeMinions: The Rise of Gru, which came second at the box office.
Although in terms of dollarsLove and Thundermight be king, it’sarguable whether this is Thor’s best MCU movie, as the film fully commits to Waititi’s penchant for parody and comedy even more so than Ragnarok did. Marvel Studios has struggled to find its footing in Phase Four, as many of the movies that have come out over the past year are ranked among the worst MCU films ever, andLove and Thunderdoes little to fix that apparent lack of direction.
Even ifLove and Thunderdid confirmThor will continue to be an MCU mainstayfor the coming years, it remains if the film will permanently Hemsworth’s portrayal of the character in the future, let alone his story or place among the next Avengers lineup.
Thor: Love and Thunderis currently available in theaters.
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