After starting its international roll out a week ago, Thor: Ragnarok made its way across the Pond this weekend, with the latest Marvel blockbuster exceeding expectations with a domestic opening haul of $121 million.
The film, which had been tracking between $100 million and $110 million, was up 41% on its predecessor Thor: The Dark World, and also managed to outperform Spider-Man: Homecoming, which opened to $117 million this summer. It did fall short of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 though, with its $146.5 million the biggest superhero movie opening of the year so far, with only Justice League still to come.
Ragnarok’s domestic haul also means that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become the first franchise to reach $5 billion in box office receipts domestically, as well as extending its worldwide haul beyond $13 billion.
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Internationally, Ragnarok added a further $151.4 million this weekend, including $55.6 million in China, a record November opening. The Taika Waititi-helmed filmed has so far earned $306 million from international markets, for a worldwide haul of $427 million and counting. The first Thor grossed $449.3 million during its entire run, while Thor: The Dark World managed $644.6 million.
“Because of the strength of the Marvel team, it affords the license to bring in storytellers that have the ability to infuse tone and style that keeps each of these films feeling unbelievably fresh,” says Disney distribution chief Dave Hollis. “The $13 billion grossed by the 17 MCU titles averages out to $800 million per film globally. Just as impressive, if not more, is the consistency from a quality standpoint.”
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In Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Ragnarok,” Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok—the destruction of his homeworld and the end of Asgardian civilization—at the hands of an all-powerful threat, the ruthless Hela. But first he must survive a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger—the Incredible Hulk.
Thor: Ragnarok is directed by Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows) and features a cast that includes Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Idris Elba as Heimdall and Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk, Cate Blanchett as Hela, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster, Karl Urban as Skurge, Taika Waititi as Korg, Clancy Brown as Surtur, Rachel House as Topaz, Tadanobu Asano as Hogun, Ray Stevenson as Volstagg and Zachary Levi as Fandral.
