Love and Thunder

Want to know more about how Jane Foster came to wield Mjolnir? Start here.

What happens when the son of Odin stops being worthy of the enchanted hammer Mjolnir? Apparently the hammer goes out and finds a new owner for itself, resulting in the creation of a new Thor, as unlikely as that might seem. While the version of the team that appears in the most recent comic book incarnation of the franchise isn’t exactly the same one that director James Gunn has made into a household name, this take on the Guardians is arguably the best seen in years. The price of being a Thor is a heavy one. Waititi isn’t the only one returning for Love and Thunder. It also features Natalie Portman reprising her role as Jane Foster, who—in a move inspired by Jason Aaron’s fan favorite comic book storyline—becomes the new Thor. And that’s not the only Aaron influence in the movie. Not only does it introduce the threat of the seemingly unstoppable Gorr, it also shows Thor growing into the person he never thought he could be. An epic dive into the lifespan of a god told across three time periods, Jason Aaron’s first Thor story was an incredibly bold debut.

Director Taika Waititi's second outing with the godly hero is a major fall from grace.

Maybe that’s Waititi’s secret intention, to take the piss out of the endeavor to such a degree that we see how dumb all this stuff really is. A visit to a sort of Pleasure Island for galactic gods does nothing for the story, though it gives Waititi ever more room to garrulously riff. There is no sense of occasion or larger narrative meaning to be found in Love and Thunder. It’s simply a vignette-y ramble, a hyper-colored string of gags that never land. Never ones to let a good thing lie, Marvel has tapped Waititi for another Thor adventure, Love and Thunder (in theaters July 8), hoping he can sustain this property with ever more of his sideways New Zealand drollness. Though it debuted 11 long years ago and my memory of it is faint, I do dimly recall that Marvel Studios’s original Thor film took itself a little seriously. Well, as seriously as one can take a movie about Norse gods living in space and battling elves and wicked foundling brothers and whatnot.

Ragnarok's Taika Waititi returns to direct the fourquel that took in $3M in Australia on Wednesday, the 2nd highest opening day during the pandemic and highest ...

There were No. 1s across the board in Asia-Pacific and Europe with the top launch in Korea at $3.1M on Wednesday. This was good for the 5th highest opening day during the pandemic era. Indonesia landed the best opening day during the pandemic with $1.6M. It was followed by Italy at $1.4M (3rd highest opening day of the pandemic/2nd biggest of 2022) and Germany at $1.2M (4th highest pandemic opening day). Ragnarok’s Taika Waititi returns to direct the fourquel that took in $3M in Australia on Wednesday, the 2nd highest opening day during the pandemic and highest opening day of 2022 to date (both excluding previews). This is also the 5th biggest all-time opening day for an MCU title in Oz (also excluding previews).

Will audiences on the fence about the newest 'Thor' sequel read the reviews and decide to wait just 45 days and watch it on DIsney+?

That would be fine in a pre-Disney+ world (or even a pre-Bob Chapek world). That still might be the case since audiences who may not be addicted to the MCU still really liked Thor: Ragnarok and may still show up for more of the same. So far, the answer is “no.” Disney is reporting a $15.7 million opening day in 17 overseas markets, including Germany, Italy, Australia and South Korea. In “like for like” markets, it has earned 39% more than Thor: Ragnarök (which eventually earned $854 million, including $115 million in China) and 24% less than Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (which didn’t play in China and still topped $950 million global). And to be clear, a Thor: Love and Thunder that grosses $715 million global (75% of Doctor Strange 2 without China and Russia) will be a rock-solid hit. There’s an enormous difference between “this film will be available to buy for $20 in 75-90 days and available to rent for $5 in 90-100 days” versus “this film will be available to buy for $20 or watch for free on your streaming platform in 45 days.” This new normal, combined with the comparatively middling reviews, may not affect the (guestimated over/under $160 million) opening weekend. It earned more than Batman Returns ($184 million domestic and $336 million global from a $53 million debut versus $162 million/$266 million from a $47 million debut) and was considered a franchise savior. All due respect, even a “bad” MCU movie like The Dark World is miles above the 1990 Captain America). Moreover, the current adults in the room were the kids who grew up during the slow normalization of mega-budget tentpoles like Independence Day, Jurassic Park and Spider-Man. It’s also why, to be fair, Keanu Reeves finally gets the respect he deserves and horror movies tend to be better reviewed than when I was a kid. Yes, the critical consensus was different in 2008 and even 2013 (when movies on the scale of Thor: The Dark World were still somewhat unique) than in 2022, both in terms of Marvel’s overwhelming popularity among geek-centric critics and their monoculture-like domination of pop culture.