Friday Estimates: Thor Tops Chart with $18.28 million, Race for Second Place Demands Attention

November 11, 2017

Thor: Ragnarok

As predicted, Thor: Ragnarok easily won on Friday with $18.28 million. This is 61% lower than its opening Friday, which is better than most blockbusters manage. It also puts it on pace for $56 million during its sophomore stint, which is exactly on track with my prediction. Meanwhile, Disney’s share of the film’s worldwide box office is already above the film’s $180 million production budget, so profitability is all but guaranteed.

Daddy’s Home 2 opened in second place with $10.88 million, but I don’t know how long it will stay there. Its reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are just 16% positive, while the average is just 3.8 out of 10. Granted, it earned an A minus from CinemaScore, so fans who rushed out to see it day one liked it a whole lot more than the average critic, but the reviews will still be an issue. It likely won’t remain in second place for long, but instead earn third place with $27 million over the weekend and it will likely match its $70 million production budget domestically.

Murder on the Orient Express was right behind with $10.75 million. Its reviews have slipped below the overall positive level, and it only manged a straight B from CinemaScore. That said, it has an older target demographic, so it will likely climb to second place on Saturday and finish the weekend with close to $28 million. This is half of what the film cost to make, so it will have no trouble matching its production budget at the domestic box office. If it can do as well internationally, relative to the size of the two markets, then it will break even early in its home market run.

A Bad Moms Christmas held on better than expected with $4.12 million on Friday, putting it on pace for between $11 million and $12 million over the weekend. This puts $60 million domestically and $100 million worldwide in reach, which is what the film needed to break even during its initial push into the home market.

Lady Bird grabbed the final spot in the top ten with $390,000, despite playing in just 37 theaters. Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut will undoubtedly expand significantly next weekend and could expand truly wide before all is said and done.

- Friday Box Office Chart

- Murder on the Orient Express Comparisons
- Daddy’s Home 2 Comparisons

Filed under: Friday Estimates, Thor: Ragnarok, Murder on the Orient Express, A Bad Moms Christmas, Daddy’s Home 2, Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig