With just two new releases hitting theaters this weekend, both expected to have moderate success at the box office, Marvel’sThor: Ragnarokwas expected to repeat at the box office, and it did so with ease. TheThor sequeldropped a respectable 53.9% in its second frame in theaters, pulling in a solid $56 million this weekend, which was more than enough to take down the two newcomers this weekend, Paramount’s comedy sequelDaddy’s Home 2and 20th Century Fox’s adaptationMurder on the Orient ExpressWhile both newcomers fared well in their opening frames, they still couldn’t come close to the mighty Asgardian.
Thor: Ragnarokremained in 4,080 theaters this weekend, pulling in an impressive $13,873 per-screen average for its second weekend. This tally has now broughtThor: Ragnarokpast the $200 million domestic threshold, with $211.5 million domestic and $650 million worldwide through its box office run, from a $180 million budget. In just 10 days,Thor: Ragnarokhas already surpassed the first twoThor moviesboth domestically and globally, and it also stands as one of the MCU’s best-reviewed movies ever at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, coming in just under the 94% for the very first MCU movie ever, 2008’sIron Man.
Debuting in second and third places respectively areDaddy’s Home 2with $30 million andMurder on the Orient Expresswith $28.2 million. Given how close both of these movies are together in the estimates, it’s completely possible that the movies may switch places tomorrow when the actual figures are released, but we’ll have to wait and see. ForDaddy’s Home 2, which bringsMel Gibson and John Lithgowinto the franchise, the opening weekend tally falls below the $38.7 million debut of the original 2015 movie, which became one of the surprise hits of that year by taking in $150.3 million domestic and $242.7 million worldwide, which lead to the sequel getting the green light.
Neither of the newcomers were particularly blessed with critical approval, with theMurder on the Orient Express adaptationearning a middling 56% on Rotten Tomatoes whileDaddy’s Home 2only received a 13% rating on RT. Still, both movies fared well, and had budgets that were modest enough to ensure that they will both likely be profitable, barring a disastrous drop next weekend.Daddy’s Home 2opened in 3,575 theaters this weekend for an impressive $8,392 per-screen average, from a $69 million budget.Murder on the Orient Expressopened in 3,341 theaters for a stellar $8,441 per-screen average, from a $55 million budget.
The top 10 was rounded out with quite the surprise in the 10-spot this weekend.A Bad Moms Christmasdropped just 31.3% in third place with $11.5 million, followed byJigsaw($3.4 million),Boo 2! a Madea Halloween($2 million),Geostorm$1.5 million),Blade Runner 2049($1.4 million),Happy Death Day($1.3 million) andLady Bird($1.2 million).Lady Bird, which marks the directorial debut of actress Greta Gerwig, opened in limited release last weekend, taking in an incredible $364,437 from just four theaters for a whopping $91,109 per-screen average, which broke the record for the highest per-screen average for a female director. This weekend, it expanded to 37 theaters and still managed to crack the top 10 with a supremely impressive $33,766 per-screen average. It remains unclear if there are further plans to expandLady Birdnationwide, but given it’s incredible first two weekends, that wouldn’t be the least bit surprising. Also opening in limited release this weekend is Fox Searchlight’sThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which earned an incredible $320,000 from just four theaters for a massive $80,000 per-screen average, while Atlas Distribution’sNo Greater Loveearned just $21,821 from 22 theaters for a dismal $992 per-screen average and The Orchard’sThelmaearned $12,357 from one theater.
Looking ahead to next weekend, Warner Bros. will roll out itshighly-anticipated Justice Leaguein theaters, which actually has some competition in wide release, with Lionsgate’s dramaWonderand Sony’s animated comedyThe Star. While neither movie appears to giveJustice Leaguea huge run for its money, most Marvel movies likeThor: Ragnarokopen with no other competition in theaters, so it will be interesting to see if this counter-programming strategy pays off forWonderandThe Star, or if they’ll both tank against the superhero ensembleJustice League. Take a look at the top 10 estimates for the weekend of November 10, and check back on Tuesday for next week’s predictions.
