Box Office: ‘Thor 4’ Unearths $159 Million Overseas, $302 Million Globally

Disney’s Marvel adventure “Thor: Love and Thunder” has thundered to $302 million at the global box office, thanks to a better-than-expected $159 million start overseas.

Overall ticket sales mark a franchise-best start for Marvel’s standalone stories about Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder. It also ranks as the third-biggest debut in pandemic times and the second-best opening weekend of the year, behind “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and “Jurassic World Dominion.”

Internationally, the fourth standalone “Thor” film is playing in 47 markets, excluding France, China or Russia. In like-for-like territories, “Thor: Love and Thunder” ranks as the 11th biggest global debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ranking 19% ahead of 2017’s “Thor: Ragnarok,” 75% ahead of 2013’s “Thor: The Dark World” and 156% ahead of the MCU’s first foray into Asgardian culture in 2011’s “Thor.”

Outside of North America, “Thor 4” enjoyed the strongest start in Korea with $15.3 million followed by the United Kingdom with $14.8 million. The quirky, otherworldly action-comedy scored an especially promising debut in Australia, Hemsworth’s home country and the location where the movie was filmed, with $13.8 million. Other top-earning territories include Mexico ($11.8 million), India ($10.3 million) and Brazil ($8 million).

Premium formats, including Imax and 3D, greatly boosted ticket sales, contributing 36% of global revenues. Internationally, 3D ticket sales were especially huge in Argentina (48%) and Brazil (33%).

Taika Waititi returned to direct “Love and Thunder,” which follows Hemsworth’s Norse god as he teams up with his ex girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who now wields her own hammer as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark on a journey to defeat the galactic villain Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who is hellbent on his plan to purge the globe of all things divine. Critics and audience members were mostly fond of “Love and Thunder” — which has a 68% on Rotten Tomatoes and a “B+” CinemaScore — but were more receptive to the off-kilter “Ragnarok.”

Meanwhile, Universal and Illumination’s animated comedy “Minions: The Rise of Gru” added $56.3 million from 64 overseas markets, bringing its international tally to $189 million and its global total to $399.8 million.

Another holdover, Paramount’s blockbuster sequel “Top Gun: Maverick” continues to dazzle with $23 million from 65 territories, a 40% decline from its prior outing. After seven weeks in theaters, the Tom Cruise-led action epic has grossed $586.2 million internationally and $597 million domestically.

In other box office milestones, Universal’s dino tentpole “Jurassic World Dominion” is nearing the $900 million mark. The sixth installment in the “Jurassic” series has collected $15.5 million from 72 markets over the weekend, taking its foreign haul to $526.1 million. With another $350 million at the domestic box office, “Dominion” has amassed $876 million to date.