Disney and Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Love and Thunder” was lightning at the domestic box office this weekend, securing first place with $143 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.
The fourth installment in the “Thor” franchise is the sixth title this year to open over $100 million, continuing an upward trajectory for the theater industry as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the first time since June 2018 that new films posted nine-figure openings on consecutive weekends.
Delivering the biggest opening yet for a “Thor” film, “Love and Thunder” also marks the fourth-highest domestic opening of the pandemic era and the third-highest opening of 2022 — behind “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” ($187.4 million) and “Jurassic World Dominion” ($145 million). (Sony and Marvel’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” comfortably holds the pandemic record with $260 million.)