Thor: Love and Thunder scores 3rd biggest opening of the year

Thor: Love and Thunder
(Image credit: Jasin Boland / Marvel Studios)

Thor is bringing the thunder at the box office.

Marvel's Thor: Love and Thunder debuted with an estimated $143 million at the domestic box office this weekend. That's the third biggest opening of the year behind Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' $187 million and Jurassic World Dominion's $145 million. It's also the biggest opening of the Thor series, surpassing Thor: Ragnarok's $123 million debut.

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But this continued a trend of movies in the Marvel franchise, which had long been lauded for its consistency, getting slightly lower marks. Prior to 2021, every MCU movie received a CinemaScore grade of A- or higher with the exception of a B+ for the original Thor. But since last November, Eternals — the MCU's first film with a "rotten" on Rotten Tomatoes — received a B, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Love and Thunder both earned a B+.

Those grades are still respectable, but the trend raises the question of whether audiences will begin to feel a decline in quality from Marvel, perhaps due to the studio's increased output, and whether that will eventually lead to diminished attendance.

For now, though, the MCU's box office haul remains mighty.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.