Theater Counts: Thor’s Four Thousand
November 2, 2017
After a dismal end to the summer, Disney will attempt to come to the industry’s rescue with three blockbuster releases in the coming two months: Coco for Thanksgiving, The Last Jedi for Christmas, and, this weekend, Thor: Ragnarok. The Thor sub-franchise has been the weakest link in the Marvel Universe so far, but this outing is getting stellar reviews, and by coming after a seemingly-endless succession of horror movies in September and October, seems well timed. It’ll launch in 4,080 theaters, which is a little more than The Dark World’s 3,841 debut, but quite a bit less than the 4,226 opening-theater count enjoyed by Captain America: Civil War. An opening over $100 million seems assured, but how much over remains an open question.
This weekend’s counter-programming comes from A Bad Mom’s Christmas, which opened in 3,615 theaters on Wednesday. Its more modest goal is to top the $23.8 million opening of its predecessor. STX Entertainment could do with a hit after some misfires this year, and missing $20 million this weekend would be bad news.
With Thor expected to dominate for a while, next weekend sees some more counter-programming: Daddy’s Home 2 and Murder on the Orient Express are both expected to start out in 3,300 theaters. Also opening, and, like Orient Express, hoping to get some awards season interest is Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, in four theaters.
Theater Counts for Weekend of November 3-5
Estimates for Weekend of November 10
Movie Distributor Estimated
TheatersDaddy's Home 2 Paramount Pictures 3,300 Murder on the Orient Express 20th Century Fox 3,300 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Fox Searchlight 4
Filed under: Theater Counts, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor