‘Thor 2’ Crushes Its Box Office Competition With $86.1 Million

Thor 2 had absolutely no trouble crushing its competition at the box office this weekend.

After posting incredibly strong numbers on Thursday evening and Friday, director Alan Taylor’s superhero epic continued making serious bank from moviegoers across the country on Saturday and Sunday. Current estimates put the sequel’s box office total at approximately $86.1 million. This figure comes in near the high end of analyst predictions.

According to Coming Soon, Thor: The Dark World did 31 percent more business than filmmaker Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 superhero saga. Needless to say the character’s box office future seems secure for now.

USA Today points out that some industry insiders believed Thor 2 could make upwards of $90 million over the weekend. While the flick ultimately fell short of this figure, the folks at Marvel and Disney are no doubt thrilled with the movie’s performance.

The Inquisitr previously reported that some analysts predicted The Dark World would pass the $300 million mark with a little help from its domestic opening. According to the numbers posted at Box Office Mojo, the movie managed to reach this goal and then some.

At present, the $200 million sequel’s worldwide total stands at approximately $327 million. Thor 2 also received a hefty push from moviegoers overseas; the flick has reportedly grossed an impressive $240 million in foreign markets as of this writing. Comparatively, the first Thor made $449 million worldwide during its theatrical run.

Paramount Pictures’ Jackass spin-off Bad Grandpa landed in second place with $11.3 million. Despite a plethora of high-brow motion pictures taking up space in theaters around the nation, the story of a raunchy old man and his grandson was apparently much more popular with moviegoers. Never underestimate the power of a good belly laugh.

The family flick Free Birds, the first animated feature from the folks at Relativity Media, held on to third place with $11.1 million. Although this pushes its domestic total to roughly $30 million, the film still has a way to go before recouping its $50 million production budget. However, home video sales will probably help push this one over the top.

Unfortunately for Ender’s Game, the sci-fi flick continued to struggle finding an audience at the box office. Director Gavin Hood’s adaptation of author Orson Scott Card’s novel only made $10.2 million this weekend. The movie’s worldwide total stands at $53 million. Given the film’s $110 million budget, this isn’t a good thing at all.

Check this weekend’s top 10 below. These figures are based on estimates. As always, the actual numbers should arrive later this week.

1. Thor: The Dark World – $86.1 million
2. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa – $11.3 million
3. Free Birds – $11.1 million
4. Last Vegas – $11.1 million
5. Ender’s Game – $10.2 million
6. Gravity – $8.4 million
7. 12 Years a Slave – $6.6 million
8. Captain Phillips – $5.8 million
9. About Time – $5.1 million
10. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 – $2.8 million

Did you catch Thor 2 in theaters this weekend? What did you think about the sequel?