Image Credit: Zade Rosenthal
Although this year’s box office still trails 2010 by 16 percent, Fast Five‘s monster $86.2 million debut last weekend was definitely a step in the right direction. Thor will attempt to continue the momentum, and while the Marvel superhero flick will likely fall short of Fast Five‘s opening, it should still post a large enough number to officially launch the summer movie season. The frame’s two other new releases, the wedding comedies Something Borrowed and Jumping the Broom, will fight over the female moviegoers not tempted by Thor’s mighty hammer. Both films may receive a little boost on Sunday, which happens to be Mother’s Day — you haven’t forgotten, right? Here are my predictions for the top five:
1. Thor: $69 million
There’s no denying that the god of thunder is one of Marvel’s less recognizable superheroes, but that didn’t stop the original Iron Man from grossing $98.6 million its first weekend in 2008. However, unlike Iron Man‘s Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth is hardly a household name. Furthermore, when Iron Man debuted, its most prominent competition was the minor romantic comedy Made of Honor. But Thor has to contend with another huge PG-13 action film in Fast Five, which has already tallied $103.2 million in just six days. Luckily, Thor‘s reviews have been encouraging for the most part, and the $150 million movie will benefit from the price hikes at 2,737 3-D theaters and 214 IMAX locations.
2. Fast Five: $38 million
The fourth film in the street-racing franchise, 2009′s Fast & Furious, fell 62 percent its second weekend. But Fast Five earned much stronger reviews and is sporting an overall “A” grade from CinemaScore audiences. So I’m thinking a 55 percent decline instead, which would push the film’s two-week domestic total past $146 million.
3. Something Borrowed: $12.5 million
Third place is a tossup between Something Borrowed and Jumping the Broom, but I’m giving a very slight edge to the former, if only because it’s opening in 869 more theaters. This PG-13 romantic comedy finds Ginnifer Goodwin falling in love with Colin Egglesfield, who’s engaged to Kate Hudson. Drama, like, ensues. Reviews have been underwhelming, but with Mother’s Day on Sunday and not much else playing for female moviegoers, the $35 million movie could wind up with an opening in the mid-teens. I’m playing it safe, though, and sticking with a figure in the tweens.
4. Jumping the Broom: $12 million
The PG-13 comedy, which features a predominantly African-American cast, revolves around a Martha’s Vineyard wedding and the convergence of two groups: the wealthy family of the bride (Paula Patton) and the working-class kin of the groom (Laz Alonso). Also starring Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, Mike Epps, and Modern Family‘s Julie Bowen, Jumping the Broom is receiving decent reviews and could attract a significant portion of the audience that showed up for Madea’s Big Happy Family two weeks ago. And like Something Borrowed, the $7 million film should also look forward to a Mother’s Day bump.
5. Rio: $9 million
Many boys, with Lightning Hammers in hand, will be lured away by Thor, but the G-rated Rio should remain the movie of choice for those with very young children. Expect a drop of around 40 percent.
Also debuting in 22 theaters is the Jodie Foster-directed dramedy The Beaver, starring Mel Gibson (yes, that Mel Gibson) as a middle-aged guy who starts using a beaver hand-puppet to communicate with the world.
“One of Marvel’s less recognizable characters”? Thor and Iron Man are flagship Marvel characters that have both been around for nearly half a century. Buy a clue, bucko.
not loser nerds like us
At least you’re honest with yourself..
just saw the movie… fantastic. The guy who plays Loki stole every scene he was in.
But people who don’t read comic books, 90% of the population, have never heard of Thor.
It would be awesome if 10% of the population read comic books.
Haha… Should I change that to 99% then?
It would be awesome if even 10% of the population read books, period.
He means less recognizable characters for people who DON’T read comic books. That means basically everyone except Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, The Green Lantern, The Flash and X-Men. I wouldn’t know who Thor was if it wasn’t for the movie.
I’ve never heard of Wonder woman before the stills came out. Thor- certainly a new character for me.
MOST people have heard of him! Just as they have heard of Apollo, Zues, Osiris, Shiva, or any other mythical figure.
They just have not heard of Marvel’s Thor.
Before the movie came out I only knew about Thor from Norse mythology
I learned of Thor from “Adventures in Babysitting.”
Brilliant.
I think Dwight mentioned him on an episode of The Office once.
Raj played him once in TBBT
hmmmm lets think….tron….another bomb i think
In your average “I don’t live in my parent’s basement” person’s world – Thor falls somewhere slightly above Daredevil in the superhero world.
Dude, if you came up to the average person on the street and asked ‘Who is Iron Man?’ prior to the first movie, they would just look at you dumbfounded. Same with Thor. Maybe they have heard the name but that is it. Walk up to anyone and ask ‘Who is Batman?’ or ‘Who is Super-man?’ they will give you the characters life stories. It’s all about media-saturation. So the writer is right: Thor as one of Marvel’s lesser known characters, for now…
Marvel character? Here I was thinking this was a spin-off movie from Adventures In Babysitting…
To the casual entertainment fan, Thor is one of Marvel’s less recognizable characters.
Characters like Spider-Man, Hulk, and the X-Men team are more popular.
All the predictions I’ve seen are all somewhere in the 60′s. I think that Thor gets to 80 million.
Thor is a norse god and is not only a Marvel character but a literature character of Norse mythology. There is a Thor movie premiering on Syfy this Saturday night.
I think Thor might do higher than that. And my theater is offering 2D and 3D screenings of the movie but I’m worried that when I go buy my tickets the 2D screens are sold out and me and my friends will have to watch it in 3D.
Just got home from seeing it in 3D. Very cool. Worth the money.
They didn’t shoot it in 3D. They “3D’ed it” when they put it together. Supposed to be better.
Regal Cinemas refuses to put their movie times in our local newspaper, The Oregonian. Regal says they should not have to pay, that the newspaper should put it in there for free. What a pain. now, I can’t find the times at a glance in the morning. I would think the ticket prices would cover putting the movie times in the paper. I have a feeling that Regal is going the way of Blockbuster in arrogance. I might wait for the $2 movie house, I’m so ticked off. But the husband and I are looking forward to Thor. It seems great!
Have you ever heard of the internet? Check there, it’s fast and easy…thanks for your rambling life story though.
As others have posted, “Thor” is instantly recognizable name with anyone with a grade school education. However, Marvel’s “Thor” is not. I think it will be a draw for people to see how Marvel includes a classic figure into its universe.
you have. and you’re wrong. the norse gods are certainly not a typical part of public school curricula.
Robert S. did before me. I breifly learned about them when we learned about Eric the Red.
Greek mythology might not be on the curriculum in most high schools today. LOL!
I’m a teacher and I can guarantee you, that in Ontario anyway, Greek and Norse mythology are part of the Grade 9 curriculum.
“Something Borrowed and Jumping the Broom, will fight over the female moviegoers not tempted by Thor’s mighty hammer.”
Not to be crude, but speaking as a female, I find this sentence to be ludicrous. What red-blooded woman wouldn’t be tempted by this particular Thor’s mighty hammer?
I can’t imagine anything worse than going to see another lame romantic comedy where catty women fight over wimpy, sallow boy men with commitment issues. Give me a Norse God/Marvel super hero any day. The idea that these films appeal only to men is absurd. They are about the only place modern women can find an archetypical male any more. Certainly they’re extinct in the wild.
Omg, that is honestly one of the best comments I have read on this board. I am surprised it was lost on the writer that the trailer, promos and other media have played up that Chris Hemsworth is damn sexy.
Haha, believe me, it wasn’t lost on this writer. I said the two romantic comedies would be fighting over those women NOT tempted by Thor’s, um, hammer, hence implying that most women would take the Marvel bait.
I’m going to be watching Thor’s um hammer this weekend
Great comment, and I agree, but I never had any interest in seeing Thor and I still don’t. I never knew he was anything more than a mythical god until this year. Maybe I’ll see it because it’s been getting surprisingly good reviews, but my personal interest is very low. Hopefully since it’s had more time, the SHIELD stuff won’t be as awkwardly crammed into the movie as it was in Iron Man 2. (In the meantime, I’ll just keep waiting for X-Men!)
Yep, my sister and ALL of her friends will be first in line. They’re all in love with Hemsworth and Portman. He’s gonna pull in a lot of chicks.
God damn that actor playing Thor is hot! Love the director as well, I cannot wait to see this movie tomorrow!
Posted on Great post Sarah!This: If no one knew Iron Man before the movie and that was huge, why not a woman srheupero? is a little flawed; Iron Man’s had presence in video games and in cartoons since the 60s (well, in cartoons since then and in games since the 80s/90s, but you get the idea). So there was probably at least a vague knowledge of the character.I’d say that there’s room for a woman-led srheupero movie aside from the development hell that Wonder Woman’s in, but I think the problem may not be recognizability of heroines but the fact that almost all are derivative of male characters.For the general public, Catwoman is inextricably linked with Batman. For the geeks in us, She-Hulk? Hulk. Ms Marvel? Captain Marvel. Manhunter? Manhunter(s). Oracle, Huntress, Batgirl? Batman.If you want a srheuperoine led film, you need to take either a lower tier character, a completely new character or rewrite the origin of an existing higher profile one. I’m not sure which is preferable.Me, I’d go to see a Wasp, Tigra, Manhunter, She-Hulk, any movie if it’s good.But if it gets the kind of word of mouth that Catwoman and My Super Ex-Girlfriend got, I’ll steer clear.
90% have never heard of Thor?
I hope this is Big.
Take back what you said about Thor.
In 1966 I saw my first Thor comic book. He was strong and he was handsome and I was hooked. I am 58 now and I am so happy they are making a movie, its been a long wait!!
I am sure there are a lot of young girls out there who admire a good looking man,and I bet there are a lot more Ladies who remember Thor from their girlhood. I think Thor will be great. Iam going to see.
The comment that Thor is less recognizable than other characters is strange to me. Honestly I had no idea who green lantern was until they started making that movie. But Thor i have heard about since i was a child. Either way saw Thor last week and it was awesome! Well worth the money.
If you’re a true comic book fan, you’ll remember them all. Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Agua Man, Green Lantern, The Thing, Fantastic Four, Wonder Woman….and don’t forget Archie!
Saw the movie since I’m in Australia. It was well worth the viewing! Not a marvel fan, know nothing about the character other than he’s a superhero. Chris Helmsworth other than being goddamn HOT is amazing at playing a Norse god. The rest of the film is visually spectacular, Anthony Hopkins bring gravitas to Odin and Tom Hiddlestone who plays Loki is brilliant. And I’m with Honey, I’m sick of these rom coms with gorgeous women who whine about never finding a decent man before all is resolved usually with someone at an airport of after some dumb life lesson.
Give me Thor and a good superhero flick any day.
Well I know they are getting all of my family’s money. I’m a geek, the wife and daughter want some eye candy and my son is old enough to go to PG-13.
That’s right Honey!! Romantic comedies all have the same message: Women.. you must get a man at all cost! Having a man is the most important thing in the world, and HE is the only thing that will validate your existence. And if you don’t have a man, you are worthless. So you must do anything and everything, no matter how degrading, to get that man!!! I told my sister to get my neices away from this crap.
…and you and the other guy have to be extremely good looking or else the message in the movie won’t really apply to you.
Romcom should change it’s genre to women fantasy