How Marvel’s ‘Thor 4’ Became An Unprecedented Box Office Success

The top movie over the weekend at Vudu was Marvel and Walt Disney’sDIS
Thor: Love and Thunder, with ParamountPARA
and Skydance’s Top Gun: Maverick placing second. The size of Top Gun 2’s haul ($705 million domestic and $1.453 billion thus far) has put the MCU on the defensive despite objectively high earnings for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($955 million) and Thor: Love and Thunder ($750 million). However, Taika Waititi’s Thor 4 out-grossed his Thor 3 domestically ($341 million) and globally sans China and Russia (where Love and Thunder did not play). In at least domestic earnings, Thor is the first big-budget franchise to have four installments that each out-grossed their predecessors. No box office bomb, Thor 4 has turned the Chris Hemsworth/Natalie Portman/Tom Hiddleston/Tessa Thompson franchise into something remarkable and made it unique both within the MCU and the Hollywood franchise landscape.

Kenneth Branagh’s Thor earned $181 million domestic and $449 million in the summer of 2011, back when that global total was enough to make it the biggest no-Batman/Iron Man/Wolverine/Spider-Man comic book superhero movie ever. Alan Taylor’s Thor: The Dark World earned $206 million domestic and $644 million worldwide in late 2013, placing second on that list behind only Man of Steel’s $668 million cume. Waititi was hired to freshen up Thor: Ragnarok and delivered a buzzy and well-received action comedy that still stands as one of the better MCU titles. Cue a $315 million domestic and $854 million global cume. And now Thor: Love and Thunder, despite mixed reviews, indifferent word-of-mouth and sharp criticism among the perpetually online, has legged out to $342 million from a $144 million debut and $750 million global, again without playing in China or Russia.

Not that many franchises make it to part four. Many of the bigger ones that did, like Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Toy Story, Mad Max, Indiana Jones and Die Hard, got ‘many years later’ legacy sequels. Die Hard grossed $81 million. Die Hard 2 earned $120 million. Die Hard: With a Vengeance grossed $100 million. Live Free or Die Hard (12 years later and with a PG-13) grossed $133 million domestic in the summer of 2007. The Lethal Weapon series went $65 million, $147 million (making it the first pure breakout sequel in modern times), $144 million and $127 million. The 1989-1997 Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher Batman films peaked with Batman ($251 million, $162 million, $184 million and $108 million), as did the Halloween (not counting the Jamie Lee Curtis-starring legacy sequels in 1998 and then in 2018), Friday the 13th, Scream and Child’s Play series.

Many franchises that scored franchise-best grosses on round four, think Insidious, Mission: Impossible and The Fast Saga. However, they had to decline on the threequel ($120 million for Insidious 3, $393 million for Mission: Impossible III and $158 million for Tokyo Drift) before rising for the fourth chapter ($172 million for The Last Key, $692 million for Ghost Protocol – although less domestically than Mission: Impossible 2 – and $360 million for Fast & Furious). Even franchises that reached new milestones on part four, think Star Trek, Harry Potter and Jurassic, had threequels and threequels that earned less than the respective franchise starter. In terms of one-two-three-four installments that each rose from their predecessor, Mad Max had three installments from 1979 to 1986 and then a tentpole fourthquel in 2015. Pixar’s Toy Story had one legacy sequel in 2010 and another in 2019. Playing fair, Thor stands almost alone.

The Mad Max movies ($8.75 million in 1980, $23.7 million for The Road Warrior in 1982, $36.2 million for Beyond Thunderdome in 1985 and then $153 million for Fury Road in 2015) sold more tickets domestically for each progressive installment. Conversely, the Toy Story films grossed $192 million in 1995/$411 million adjusted for inflation, $242 million in 1999/$448 million adjusted, $415 million in 2010/$500 million adjusted and then $430 million in 2019/$451 million adjusted. Is there any other modern franchise with four theatrically successful installments, each topping their respective predecessor domestically without taking a decade or three between installments? Yes. The Dream Master grossed $49 million in 1988, more than The Dream Warriors ($45 million in 1987), Freddy’s Revenge ($29 million in 1985) and the first A Nightmare On Elm Street ($26 million in 1984. Even if I missed one, Thor is in scarce company.

This ‘matters,’ beyond just fun trivia, because it’s a reminder that, despite mixed reviews and buzz, Thor: Love and Thunder was very much a very big hit. Thor has never been the biggest of MCU franchises, with The Dark World earning less than Iron Man 3 ($409 million/$1.2 billion) and Captain America 2 ($259 million/$714 million) and Guardians of the Galaxy ($333 million/$773 million). Even Thor: Ragnarok earned less in 2017 than Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ($389 million/$869 million) and Spider-Man: Homecoming ($334 million/$881 million). If John Wick: Chapter 4, one of the few modern franchises (alongside Captain America) to rise each time out, only earns 5% more than John Wick: Chapter 3’s $322 million global cume, I think Lionsgate will be happy. Captain America: New World Order may want to look at The Bourne Legacy or Live and Let Die as a comparison point.

It also matters because, even as we debate the future of theatrical moviegoing, it bears repeating that we still had part four of a big-budget franchise that out-grossed its threequel even with less buzz and another movie hogging the spotlight. Even amid a summer challenged by Covid, an emphasis on streaming and economic challenges, we witnessed all-time box office records being shattered left and right. Top Gun 2 is the biggest ‘part two’ sequel ever. Elvis is the second-biggest musical biopic ever. Minions: The Rise of Gru set a new Independence Day weekend opener record. And Thor: Love and Thunder out-grossed Thor: Ragnarok, making the Thor series the first big-budget franchise to do a 1 > 2 > 3 > 4 box office upswing without years upon years between installments. Even as just another Thor movie, Love and Thunder became the biggest Thor of all.