“Thor: Love and Thunder,” the next chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Chris Hemsworth’s fourth solo outing as the God of Thunder,” has opened to a huge $29 million in Thursday night previews at the domestic box office.
The Thursday opening is the fifth highest for an MCU movie and the 13th highest ever, tied with “Rogue One.” It’s also the second biggest Thursday launch of 2022, behind only “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” which had $36 million.
The superhero movie, billed as a rom-com between Hemsworth’s Thor and his on-again, off-again love interest Jane Foster, played by Natalie Portman, is projected to earn between $145 million to $155 million in its opening weekend. Some estimates even go as high as $170 million.
An opening in that Asgardian ballpark would give “Thor: Love and Thunder” one of the highest debuts of the year, landing somewhere among The Batman” ($134 million debut), “Jurassic World: Dominion” ($145 million debut) and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” ($185 million debut). “Love and Thunder” is also on track to rain down more ticket sales than its predecessor, 2017’s “Thor: Ragnarok,” also directed by Taika Waititi. That movie opened to $123 million in the U.S. and went on to gross $315 million domestically and $853 million worldwide.
Internationally on Thursday, “Thor: Love and Thunder” has earned $48.6 million, where it’s now playing in 42 markets. Overseas, the movie is projected to make $140 million to $150 million from international markets, but it’s not playing in China, Russia or France.
Hemsworth and Portman reunite in the fourth “Thor” film, after they last shared the screen in “Thor: The Dark World.” Portman sat out of “Ragnarok,” but this time she becomes equally powerful and calls herself the Mighty Thor. The two exes must join forces to face off against the ominously named villain Gorr the God Butcher, played by Christian Bale.