Box Office Report: Thunderstruck

The MCU is back. Possibly. Much has been written about the status of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the post-lockdown and strike era. It feels like every year is marked by yet another wave of ‘is the Marvel backlash finally here’ thinkpieces. Don’t call for the coffins just yet. Captain America: Brave New World underperformed, but now we have Thunderbolts* and it’s gotten some of the strongest reviews the franchise has had in years. That also translated to a strong enough commercial opening for Disney to rest easy.

Thunderbolts* earned $76 million from 4,330 theatres. That was more than enough for the movie to claim the top spot at the box office. It does seem small for a Marvel movie, but this is not a top-tier Avengers title. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney was hoping the movie would hit $80 million domestically but the actual number is still solid. It helps that the IMAX grosses were very good and so are the international numbers. It’s close to making back its reported $180 million budget. Can it be a strong player in the long term? It does have the reviews to make that happen.

Speaking of films doing great thanks to strong word of mouth, Sinners is still doing gangbusters at the box office. In its third week, its gross only fell 27.8%, which is incredible. So far, its domestic earnings are at just under $180 million. Internationally, it’s also doing well, although it’s at home where it’s doing best. Sinners has made about $236.7 million worldwide, so it’s doubled its budget and then some. Ryan Coogler, you are a star.

As expected with a Marvel movie in theatres, we didn’t get many other new releases over the weekend. The next highest-placed one is HIT: The 3rd Case, an Indian action-thriller and the third part of a trilogy. It brought in $955,000 from 590 locations.

Behind that is The Surfer, starring Nicolas Cage. He’s the surfer. This one grossed $674,560 from 1,085 cinemas, which makes it something of a disappointment.

Bonjour Tristesse, an adaptation of the classic novel, took in $102,600 from 228 theatres. Pavements, an experimental docu-hybrid drama about the band of the same name, made $13,164 from one place; the delightfully titled black comedy thriller Vulcanizadora earned $5,246 from one cinema; and the also delightfully titled (if more sinisterly so) Most People Die on Sundays, grossed $940.

This coming week sees the release of action movie Shadow Force, plane thriller Fight or Flight, and the nightmare fuel Clown in a Cornfield.

You can check out the rest of the weekend box office results here.