Disney/Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok Hulk Smashed multiplexes across North America this weekend, bringing a dormant box office scene back to life following one of the worst Octobers on record for business. The news wasn’t as good for STX’s A Bad Moms’ Christmas, which got off to a ho-ho-hum start in second.
Starting things off with a bang on Thursday night, Thor: Ragnarok amassed a mighty $121 million from 4,080 screens this weekend. The third standalone feature for the God of Thunder opened to nearly double the $65 million earned by the first Thor in May of 2011 and roughly 41% higher than the $85 million scored in November 2013 by Thor: The Dark World. Ragnarok’s opening is also the fourth biggest of 2017 so far and the seventh biggest to date for the seemingly indestructible Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise.
The daily business breakdown for the $180 million Taika Waititi production was $14.5 million from Thursday night, $32.3 million on Friday, $44.3 million on Saturday and $30 million estimated for today. IMAX screens were a major contributor to the big opening numbers with nearly 400 IMAX venues bringing in $12 million. Thanks to a $151 million weekend overseas, the international gross for the film has hit $306 million after only two weeks.
Matching the stellar box office numbers was strong feedback from both critics and the public. Thor: Ragnarok scored a 93% approval from Rotten Tomatoes and a 73/100 from Metacritic while ticket buyers gave the film an “A” on CinemaScore. While the November 17th arrival of Justice League should take away some of Ragnarok’s, ahem, thunder at the box office, it should be enough to stop the film from becoming the latest Marvel Studios release to cross the $300 million milestone.
Getting off to a so-so start in second place was the STX quickie sequel A Bad Moms’ Christmas. The holiday-themed follow up to the surprise 2016 hit opened on 3,615 theaters this past Wednesday with $17 million for the weekend and $21.5 million for the first five days. Reviews were dismal for Christmas, with the film earning a 32% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 42/100 from Metacritic. Ticket buyers were also lukewarm on the R-rated comedy, giving the film a “B” on CinemaScore.
Fading fast in third place was last week’s number one flick Jigsaw. The revival of the Saw franchise saw 60% of its opening weekend crowds going elsewhere as the Lionsgate release earned a bloodless $6.7 million from 2,941 theaters. After ten days, Jigsaw has brought in $29 million domestically and another $30.7 million internationally.
Another Lionsgate feature, Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween, dipped 54% in its third round on 2,202 screens, where it made an estimated $4.65 million. The domestic total for the latest Madea mayhem sits at $43 million and should finish close to $50 million.
Rounding out the top five was the Warner dud Geostorm with $3 million from 2,666 theaters. Off 49%, the domestic total for the Gerard Butler bomb stands at $29 million with another $153 million amassed from overseas markets.
- Happy Death Day (Universal) $2.8 million (-45%); $53 million
- Thank You for Your Service (Universal) $2.26 million (-41%); $7.3 million
- Blade Runner 2049 (Warner) $2.23 million (-46%); $85.4 million
- Only the Brave (Sony) $1.9 million (-45%); $15.2 million
- The Foreigner (STX) $1.5 million (-55%); $32 million
Next weekend sees the arrival of Daddy’s Home 2 and the latest take on the classic mystery novel Murder on the Orient Express. Both should open well but neither will come close to the second weekend of Thor: Ragnarok. Watch for that film to pull in roughly $55-60 million in its sophomore session.
