With the release of Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has officially rounded out its 2017 film slate. There was quite a bit of speculation about how Ragnarok would perform at the box office, particularly when we consider that the Thor franchise has seldom lived up to contemporaries like Iron Man or Captain America. Now, however, it looks like the gamble on a more comedic, sci-fi version of Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth) ultimately paid off, as the Thor threequel has officially surpassed DC's Wonder Woman at the global box office.
As of today, Thor: Ragnarok has officially garnered roughly $833 million at the worldwide box office, which means that it has beaten Wonder Woman's global total of $821.8 million. Thor has been a mighty force to be reckoned with at the box office since it premiered in early November, so the success isn't particularly surprising in hindsight. That said, it's worth mentioning that this doesn't necessarily reflect poorly on Wonder Woman. Patty Jenkins' DC origin story for Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) was a domestic powerhouse and had some serious legs at the box office -- winning big with audiences over the course of several consecutive weeks. Wonder Woman performed admirably for the DCEU, but Ragnarok's grand total appears to have it beat.
Moreover, this also means that Marvel Studios is now responsible for three of the seven highest grossing movies of 2017. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 raked in a strong $863.6 million when it debuted in May, and Spider-Man: Homecoming actually took the year's top spot for superhero box office performance with $880 million.
This phenomenal box office haul is nothing to scoff at, as blowing by DC and debuting three of the year's most successful movies is a big moment for Marvel. To date, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has never debuted more than two movies in a given year, so adding one extra film to the slate likely represented a significant increase in workload for the higher-ups at Marvel Studios. The success of Thor: Ragnarok as the third major MCU project of the year seemingly means that Marvel can still maintain quality control with an extra movie on the docket. Now it's time to see what 2018 brings.
Thor: Ragnarok is still in select theaters, so if you haven't checked it out already, make sure to see it on the big screen while you still can! Thor Odinson will make his next major appearance on the big screen next year when Avengers: Infinity War debuts in theaters on May 4, 2018. There's still plenty of time to get yourself up-to-speed on Infinity War before it premieres, so check out our comprehensive guide to everything that you need to know about it!
