Thor: Love and Thunder, the fourth installment of the god's franchise, made $29 million in Thursday night box office previews, per The Numbers. The film has the second-highest preview total of 2022, after fellow superhero movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness drew in $36 million. Additionally, the newest Thor project has the fifth-largest preview number of the MCU.
It is interesting to note that Love and Thunder easily toppled its critically acclaimed predecessor Ragnarok in terms of previews. The latter grossed $14.5 million in previews. On opening day, it made $46.4 million at the box office. The fourth entry of the Thor series has already made $48 million in pre-sales.
Love and Thunder's pre-sales total is higher than other 2022 hits like Jurassic World Dominion's $40 million, and Top Gun: Maverick's $38 million. Given that the latter is currently the highest-grossing film of the year so far, it is no small feat for the superhero flick to perform better in pre-sales. Domestic opening weekend numbers for the latest Thor motion picture are estimated to be about $140 million to $160 million. The achievement will be a part of the expected international opening weekend total of $300 million. The title is projected to be the biggest opening weekend of director Taika Waititi's career. If the motion picture continues to do well, it could end up being the highest grossing movie of 2022.
Thor: Love and Thunder Reviews Are Mixed
While Thor: Love and Thunder is enjoying great financial success, its critical reception has been more of a mixed bag. The movie currently has a 68% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The site's critical consensus reads, "In some ways, Thor: Love and Thunder feels like Ragnarok redux - but overall, it offers enough fast-paced fun to make this a worthy addition to the MCU." Many critics felt that the film was too reminiscent of the previous entry in the franchise.
The reviews came as a surprise, given that Waititi's Ragnarok received highly positive reviews, with a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. After mixed critical and audience responses to the first two Thor movies, Waititi stepped into the director's chair and helped revitalize the franchise. Thor: Ragnarok was widely viewed as the best film to star the Norse God of Thunder. Mixed reviews can have an effect on the box office, so it remains to be seen whether Love and Thunder's final international gross will be larger than its predecessor.
Chris Hemsworth stars in the lead role. The supporting cast includes Natalie Portman as Jane Foster/ The Mighty Thor, Christian Bale as the antagonist Gorr the God Butcher, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Jaime Alexander as Sif, Russell Crowe as Zeus, Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Vin Diesel as Groot, and Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon.
In addition to directing, Waititi comes back to voicing the fan-favorite character Korg. Portman makes her long awaited return https://movieweb.com/thor-love-and-thunder-natalie-portman-return/ as Jane Foster, though she now has the powers of Thor. The actress hasn't been seen in the MCU since 2013's Thor: The Dark World. Christian Bale moves from the DC Universe to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to portray the project's main villain.
Thor: Love and Thunder is now playing in theaters.