Joss Whedon's The Avengers and Shane Black's Iron Man 3 currently stand at number three and five on the all-time worldwide box office gross rankings, which basically secures the Marvel Cinematic Universe as one of the biggest franchises currently running in modern Hollywood. As a result, however, expectations are through the roof for Thor: The Dark World, which finally hits theaters this weekend here in the United States after already coming out in a few markets abroad. Fortunately, it looks as though the movie will live up to its predecessors, as the movie has already surpassed the $100 million mark internationally and its been estimated that it will make around $95 million in its first three days of release domestically. Fans are obviously excited for the film, but what is it exactly that they are looking forward to the most? According to a survey done by Fandango, there are many answers to that question.
While the ticket sales site doesn't specify the number of people that took their survey, according to their numbers one of the big factors in fans buying tickets to see Thor: The Dark World is its central star. Of those polled, 81% said that they are fans of the Aussie actor who takes the title role in the movie. These stats are surely helped by the fact that 72% of survey takers said that "fond memories of The Avengers" is one of the main reasons they have decided to go see the Thor sequel.
The numbers collected also suggest something that most of us knew already: a lot of people really love that psychopathic Asgardian villain known as Loki. Of those who answered the survey, 67% said that the God of Mischief's presence is "critical to their enjoyment" of movies in the Thor arc of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tom Hiddleston absolutely blew us all away in his debut as the character in 2011's Thor and became a fan favorite thanks to his turn as the central villain in The Avengers. What really makes the performance so magnetic, however, is that Hiddleston himself is not only a great actor but also an awesome all-around personality (which I can say having interviewed the guy on three separate occasions). Needless to say, there aren't many out there who could walk out on to a stage in full costume at San Diego Comic-Con and get the reaction the star did this past summer:
We here at Cinema Blend couldn't be more excited for the release of Thor: The Dark World, so be sure to stay tuned over the next few days for all of our coverage about the film, including editorials, interviews and fun features.
