Thor: Love and Thunder debuts with Herculean $143 million at the box office
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The fourth Thor film had a thunderous, franchise-best debut at the North American box office.
Thor: Love and Thunder debuted at No. 1 this weekend with $143 million, according to Comscore. The opening is far mightier than the last three Thor films: Ragnarok, also directed by Taika Waititi, had a solid $122.7 million debut in 2017, while the first two — Thor and The Dark World — had ungodly openings in 2011 and 2013 with $65.7 million and $85.7 million, respectively. Globally, Love and Thunder earned a Herculean $302 million.
Chris Hemsworth once again reprises his role as the titular God of thunder as he reunites with familiar faces (Jane Foster, played by Natalie Portman, and Valkyrie, played by Tessa Thompson) and encounters new foes (Christian Bale's unsettling Gorr the God Butcher). There's a mighty twist this time around as Portman's Jane assumes the role of female Thor, known as Mighty Thor. Waititi has described the film as the (male) Thor's "midlife crisis" film.
Jasin Boland/Marvel Studios Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth in 'Thor: Love and Thunder'
"It's not a serious film, and it's not a drama, but we do deal with ideas that I think a lot of humans deal with — universal themes about love and loss and our place in the world," he told EW. "Everyone sort of asks this question in the film: What is your purpose? What is the reason that you're a hero, and what do you do when you have these powers? It's sort of like a midlife crisis film, really."
The director also said he wanted to "freak" Marvel fans out with the fourth iteration's themes of love during EW's Around the Table with the cast and crew (above). "I was thinking, what would freak the fans out — and not in a good way?" Waititi said. "You associate Thor [with being a] big hero. The last thing a Thor fan really wants to see is the word 'love.' They're like, ugh, kissing! So I was like, we'll lean into that. We'll make them love love and make the fans excited for a romance."
Romance or not, franchises certainly reigned supreme across theaters this weekend. Thor 4 is followed by Minions: The Rise of Gru at No. 2. The Despicable Me prequel earned an additional $45.5 million at the domestic box office. Top Gun: Maverick followed behind in third place with an additional $15.5 million. Elsewhere, Baz Luhrmann's Elvis shook, rattled, and rolled at No. 4, earning $11 million more this weekend. Finally, Jurassic World Dominion rounded out the top five with an extra $8.4 million.
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