Marvel may have found itself in a bit of a rough spot with critics – and a growing number of viewers – with its Phase Four offerings, but it doesn’t seem to be impacting the money-making potential of the Marvel Cinematic Universe too much just yet as the studio’s latest release Thor: Love and Thunder came in higher than expectations with a global opening weekend of $302 million.
The fourth film in the Thor franchise, Love and Thunder reunites Chris Hemsworth with Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi and his Thor and Thor: The Dark World co-star Natalie Portman, who now finds herself wielding Mjolnir as the Mighty Thor.
Despite a mixed critical reception (it currently sits at 67% on Rotten Tomatoes, only a shade above Thor: The Dark World on 66%), Thor: Love and Thunder debuted in first place in North America with $143 million, with another $159 million from 47 international markets including Korea ($15.3 million), and the UK ($14.8 million).
Love and Thunder enjoyed the biggest opening of the four Thor movies, and the MCU’s eleventh-biggest global debut, while it’s also the third-biggest opener of 2022 so far after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($450 million) and Jurassic World Dominion ($389 million).
Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Love and Thunder” finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on a journey, unlike anything he’s ever faced – a quest for inner peace. But his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi), and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who – to Thor’s surprise – inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late.
Directed by Thor: Ragnarok‘s Taika Waititi, who also reprises his CGI role as Korg, Thor: Love and Thunder stars Chris Hemsworth (Thor), alongside the returning Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie), Jaimie Alexander (Lady Sif), Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Dave Bautista (Drax) and Sean Gunn (Kraglin), with Christian Bale (Ford v Ferrari) as Gorr the God Butcher and Russell Crowe (Man of Steel) as Zeus.
Thor: Love and Thunder is in cinemas now.
