Last week, Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok became the 17th straight feature from Marvel Studios to claim the number one spot in its opening weekend. That was a pretty big deal, but now the fantasy comedy adventure has kept its success going for week number two as well. Check out the full Top 10 breakdown below!
Just 10 days into its release, Thor: Ragnarok is not only ranked number 12 among all Marvel Cinematic Universe titles, but is already the highest grossing title in the Thor series (not taking inflation into account). Worldwide, its total is now up to over $650 million, which is really impressive. Its second week drop-off - about 54 percent - isn't anything notable, but clearly it was small enough to fend off two significant new wide releases making their debut (more on them in a minute).
Between James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Jon Watts' Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Thor: Ragnarok, Marvel Studios has had another great year (notably their first with three wide releases), but eyes are now definitely looking ahead to what should be a darker and massive 2018. While the MCU has a record of changing things up from a genre standpoint, this year was all about comedy... and that really won't be the case next year. Sure, Peyton Reed's Ant-Man & The Wasp will bring some laughs, but Ryan Coogler's Black Panther looks serious in a badass way, and we don't anticipate too many giggles when Thanos finally becomes an active antagonist in Joe and Anthony Russo's The Avengers: Infinity War. But while the features go more for awe-struck than hysterical, we fully expect that they keep raking in the dough.
As noted, the latest Marvel title had some interesting competition this weekend, and both wound up doing fairly well. To start with the film that claimed the number two slot, Sean Anders' Daddy's Home 2 will very likely go down as one of the worst-reviewed titles released in 2017, but it did manage to find an audience in its opening weekend. Granting it an "A-" CinemaScore, movie-goers dug the ensemble comedy, featuring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson, John Cena, and John Lithgow, and while the project carries a ridiculous reported budget (this thing cost $69 million?), it looks like it could ultimately turn a profit. Right now it's worth noting that it doesn't appear as though it will outpace its predecessor, which opened with $38 million and went on to make $150 million domestically.
This are also looking well for Kenneth Branagh's Murder On The Orient Express - though the film was surely hoping to be able to nab that number two slot behind Thor: Ragnarok. All the same, it only came up $1.8 million short, and performed well for its $55 million budget. The movie has received somewhat middling reviews, but its likely a release that will continue to bring in older audiences over the next couple of weeks. We'll have to see how things go, but the idea of a big screen Hercule Poirot/Agatha Christie adaptation series starring Kenneth Branagh doesn't seem entirely out of the question.
Marvel fans have hopefully enjoyed Thor: Ragnarok's extended stay at the top of the box office, but that reign is expected to end by the time we get through the next seven days. This is because Zack Snyder's Justice League is invading theaters this Friday - along with big time counter-programming options including Stephen Chbosky's Wonder, Dan Gilroy's Roman J. Israel, Esq., and Sony Pictures Animation's [The Star][4]. We'll be back next Sunday to see how it all shakes out, so stay tuned!
[4]: https://www.cinemablend.com/previews/1466789/The Star
