Thor: The Dark World thunders to top of US-Canada charts

Marvel Sequel hauls in $94 million from international markets.

NEW YORK: Marvel superhero Thor pounded his box office competitors over the weekend, muscling sequel Thor: The Dark World to the top of US and Canadian charts with a hefty $86.1 million in debut ticket sales.

The 3D film starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Tom Hiddleston trounced last week’s top movies. Raunchy comedy Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa finished in second place with $11.3 million from Friday through Sunday, according to hollywood.com.

Free Birds, the 3D movie featuring the voices of Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson as turkeys, that team up and travel back in time to get turkey off Thanksgiving dinner plates, earned the third slot with $11.2 million, finishing just ahead of senior citizen buddy comedy Last Vegas, which took in $11.1 million.

According to a distributor at Walt Disney Co., Thor: The Dark World hauled in $94 million from the international markets, where it has been playing since October 30. IMAX showings added another $11 million globally, putting its combined global ticket sales through Sunday in the ballpark of $327 million.



The new Thor installment co-stars Portman as the love interest for Hemsworth’s Thor, the Nordic God of thunder, who battles to save his homeland of Asgard from evil forces. Hiddleston plays Thor’s villainous brother Loki, who might just find redemption for his past misdeeds this time around.

Despite having a stronger opening than the original Thor movie, which debuted with $65.7 million in May 2011, Thor 2 fell a bit short of industry forecasts that estimated it would kick off with up to $92 million at North American (US and Canadian) theatres.

Thor also appeared in the 2012 blockbuster The Avengers, which helped stoke interest in the character and his standalone film. According to a poll by Fandango.com, 72% of ticket buyers said their fond memories of Thor in The Avengers influenced their choice to see Thor: The Dark World.

Given that the sequel cost $170 million to make, execs at Disney appear to be happy with its opening weekend performance. “It’s a great start,” said Dave Hollis, the Executive Vice President of distribution for Walt Disney Studios, adding that they would have considered “anything north of $80 million to be a good result”. Hollis also noted that the film was playing especially well with family audiences.

Last week’s box office winner, the sci-fi thriller Ender’s Game, fell to fifth place, taking in $10.3 million after a steep 62% drop in box office receipts.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 13^th, 2013.

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