‘Thor’ outpacing ‘SpiderMan’ pre-ticket sales
LOS ANGELES: Marvel’s “Thor: Ragnarok” is looking to turbocharge a sleepy box office when it debuts in North America this weekend.
Anticipation is high for the Marvel superhero sequel, with Fandango reporting that the film is currently out-selling “SpiderMan: Homecoming” at a similar point in its sales cycle.
The online ticketing giant says that the latest Thor film, the third in the Norse god franchise, is also far ahead of the previous two movies in the series.
“Spider-Man: Homecoming” debuted to US$117 million when it opened last July. “Thor: Ragnarok” is on track to open in the US$100 million to US$118 million range. The film has already launched in certain foreign markets, and made US$109 million in its international debut last week.
The film brings back Chris Hemsworth as the hammerwielding Avenger and partners him with Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk. Cate Blanchett plays the primary antagonist Hela, the goddess of death.
Taika Waititi, an indie director best known for “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” slid behind the camera for this instalment, and has been credited by critics with injecting a more light-hearted tone into the series.
Fandango surveyed more than 1,000 moviegoers and found that 97 per cent of those polled were excited to see the interactions between Thor and the Hulk, 89 per cent were looking forward to the funnier storyline, and 88 per cent were primed to see Blanchett.
If “Thor: Ragnarok” delivers, it’s good news for the box office. Ticket sales are down five per cent year-to-date and box office revenue this October was the worst since 2007.