Thor: Ragnarok is outpacing two other Marvel Cinematic Universe films in the early going of its global launch. Marvel Studios' 2017 slate is nearing its end after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 performed well for them, and Spider-Man: Homecoming gave Sony the highest grossing superhero movie of the year (so far). Now it is Chris Hemsworth's time to shine as he returns to play the God of Thunder for a fifth time. Thor has lead the least successful franchise of the original Avengers thus far, but Ragnarok is primed to launch him into a different status.
Early reviews for Ragnarok have heralded it as potentially Marvel's funniest film and is earning director Taika Waititi plenty of praise. The stellar buzz has only continued to increase the fever for the movie and is directly responsible for the box office projections continuing to rise. Overseas markets are already experiencing the seventeenth MCU adventure, and it is outperforming a number of previous MCU films.
Related: Why MCU Films Open in the U.S. Later Than Overseas
Variety reports that Thor: Ragnarok has grossed $28 million in the first three days of its international launch. Ragnarok is now available in 28 markets and will expand to more by the end of the weekend, but has already outpaced both Doctor Strange and Thor: The Dark World with its international debut. The key markets so far have included the UK with $6.7 million, South Korea with $3.8M, and France with $3M. Australia - Hemsworth's native land and the movie's home during production - has generated $2 million so far, which is the biggest opening day in October for that market.
Doctor Strange and The Dark World are, respectively, the ninth and tenth highest-grossing MCU films at the worldwide box office, standing at $664M and $644M respectively. Both movies earned nearly identical totals internationally too, with Doctor Strange pulling in $445M compared to The Dark World's $438M. Current projections have Ragnarok opening between $85-$100M internationally, by comparison.
Based on these early numbers and the rising projections for its domestic launch, Ragnarok could conceivably enter the discussion for highest grossing superhero film of the year. That will depend on its overall performance at the global box office this weekend, followed by its bow at the domestic box office next week and then its launch in any remaining international markets. Ragnarok is already Certified Fresh on popular aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and continues to generate positive buzz among general moviegoers, which will only aid its commercial performance. At the least, Thor: Ragnarok should go down as the best and biggest installment in the Thor movie franchise yet.
NEXT: Read Screen Rant's Thor Ragnarok Review
Source: Variety
