Disney’s Thor: Love and Thunder has garnered a $143 million debut at the box office.
The movie released with an estimate of $150 million, but the opening weekend figures are massive. Love and Thunder also notched the third-biggest opening weekend of the year behind Jurassic World Dominion ($145 million) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($185 million).
Since the original Thor, which was released by Paramount, opened in 2011 with $65 million, the series has only grown in popularity over the past decade. But while Thor has become a fan-favourite, the newest superhero adventure doesn’t have the multiversal component that fueled the massive turnout for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness or Spider-Man: No Way Home, which is why ticket sales did not reach those levels. Though the Guardians of the Galaxy briefly appear in Love and Thunder, the story is more of a one-off adventure in the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Thor: Ragnarok filmmaker Taika Waititi returned to direct Love and Thunder, which follows Hemsworth’s Norse god as he teams up with his former beau Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who now wields her own hammer as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark on a journey to defeat the galactic villain Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who is hellbent on his plan to purge the universe of all things divine.
The movie is playing in 4,375 North American theaters.
At the international box office, Love and Thunder opened ahead of expectations with $159 million from 47 markets, pushing its global tally to $302 million. The film cost $250 million to produce and roughly $100 million to promote.