Over the Fourth of July weekend, Minions: The Rise of Gru vastly exceeded expectations with a massive $125 million opening weekend (following projections of an $80 million debut). Now, Deadline reports that Thor: Love and Thunder is taking aim at an electrifying $140 million - $160 million haul in North America and $150 million overseas.
This puts the Thor: Ragnarok sequel on track to debut globally with a massive $300 million!
Back in 2017, Ragnarok opened domestically with $122.7 million, going on to ultimately earn $854 million worldwide. Whether Thor: Love and Thunder can top that number remains to be seen, especially with reviews that aren't quite as glowing as its predecessor.
As of right now, the blockbuster has 71% on Rotten Tomatoes, a far cry from Thor: Ragnarok's 93% "Certified Fresh" score. It's a long way from being deemed Rotten, of course, but it will still be interesting to see what fans make of the movie when it starts rolling out into theaters starting Thursday.
It's worth noting that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness scored 74%, but very nearly topped $1 billion. With that in mind, we're not expecting Thor: Love and Thunder to underperform. It is, however, pacing behind the Doctor Strange sequel, likely because there was so much anticipation for that movie in the wake of Loki and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
"In some ways, Thor: Love and Thunder feels like Ragnarok redux," reads the current Critics Consensus for Thor: Love and Thunder on Rotten Tomatoes, "but overall, it offers enough fast-paced fun to make this a worthy addition to the MCU."
Check out a newly revealed poster for the movie below:
The movie finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on a journey unlike anything he’s ever faced – a quest for inner peace. But his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi) and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who – to Thor’s surprise – inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor.
Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late.
Directed by Taika Waititi, the movie stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Russell Crowe, Jaimie Alexander, Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, and Sean Gunn among others.
Thor: Love and Thunder is set to be released in theaters on July 8, 2022.