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Deadline’s Most Valuable Blockbuster tournament took a hiatus during the pandemic as movie theaters closed for the majority of 2020-2021 and theatrical day-and-date titles on both the big screen and studio’s respective streaming platforms became more prevalent. Coming back from that pandemical brink, the motion picture studios have largely returned to their theatrical release models and the downstream monies they can bring. Not to mention their power in launching IPs around the world with big global marketing campaigns. When it comes to evaluating the financial performance of top movies, it isn’t about what a film grosses at the box office. The true tale is told when production budgets, P&A, talent participations and other costs collide with box office grosses, and ancillary revenues from VOD to DVD and TV. To get close to that mysterious end of the equation, Deadline is repeating our Most Valuable Blockbuster tournament for 2022, using data culled by seasoned and trusted sources.
THE FILM
Thor: Love & Thunder
Disney
It stands to reason that Marvel Studios would hand the reins back to Taika Waititi on a fourth Thor after the filmmaker revived the dormant franchise with a hysterical and fun third movie in 2017, Thor: Ragnarok. That film notched franchise bests with its A CinemaScore and $855 million worldwide take. Thor: Ragnarok turned the absurdist New Zealand filmmaker Waititi into an A-list filmmaker. He proved his mettle with Searchlight’s WWII black comedy Jojo Rabbit, which earned him an Adapted Screenplay Oscar in 2020, followed by the soccer comedy Next Goal Wins (it opens September 22), as well as directing an episode of Disney+’s The Mandalorian.
Where to take Thor? Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige said during the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con that the next level for the Norse superhero would see him meeting his match in Lady Thor, aka Thor’s former girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman, returning after taking a break on Ragnarok). Another plus was having Christian Bale (long known for Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight) making his Marvel debut as the despicable villain Gorr the Butcher, a guy on an unstoppable quest to kill gods. Disney, which continually looks to make strides on screen with LGBTQ+ representation, also had it revealed that Tessa Thompson’s superhero Valkyrie had a girlfriend, this despite the fact she remains unattached in the fourth film here.
THE BOX SCORE
THE BOTTOM LINE
Thor: Love and Thunder still profited after all ancillaries with $103 million, despite the fourth movie not being a favorite among fans (B+, same grade as the first Thor) or critics, who gave the movie its lowest Rotten Tomatoes score in the franchise with 63%. Essentially, Waititi’s sense of humor wore thin. The movie still debuted to a record franchise opening of $144.1M domestic, though under an anticipated $160M. That said, Thor: Love and Thunder set a series record with its $302M worldwide debut. At the end of the day, while Thor 4 grossed more than Thor: Ragnarok at the domestic box office, $343.2M vs. $315M, worldwide, the fourth movie was lower than the third, $760.9M vs. $855.3M, a key reason being the lack of Russia and China. Disney is among those studios blocking its theatrical releases in Russia as a sanction for the country’s invasion of Ukraine, while China largely has turned its back on Disney and Marvel fare coming out of Covid. Disney developed a controversial reputation for theatrical day-and-date releases on Disney+ when theaters were trying to reopen in 2021, and waged a controversial lawsuit with Scarlett Johansson over Black Widow. Despite that, Thor: Love and Thunder, like other post-pandemic MCU titles Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals and Doctor Strange 2, enjoyed a lengthy theatrical window before dropping on the studio’s streaming service 63 days later (September 8). That $160M global streaming figure includes the money Disney paid itself to debut Thor: Love and Thunder on Disney+. Despite higher production costs here compared to Ragnarok ($250M vs. $180M), Thor: Love and Thunder still profits despite coming in lower than Thor: Ragnarok‘s $174.2M.