Box Office: ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Fending Off ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ and ‘Paws of Fury’

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“DC League of Super-Pets” struggled to sell tickets overseas against “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” another family-friendly offering that’s competing for attention at the international box office.The Warner Bros. animated adventure about the animal compatriots of Superman and other Justice League members has collected a lackluster $18.4 million from 63 foreign markets.

J. Kim Murphy Even superheroes’ dogs open at the top of the box office.The animated comedy “DC League of Super-Pets” looks to top domestic charts in its opening, projecting a debut of $22.4 million.

“DC League of Super-Pets” from Warner Bros. and DC made a super $2.2 million at the box office in its Thursday pre-shows from 3,200 locations.

wildly popular murder-mystery book, Where the Crawdads Sing, is now a Reese Witherspoon-produced movie starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and David Strathairn.WATCH: Where The Crawdads Sing - Official TrailerBut as the film hit cinemas this month, there came another stunning twist to the author’s remarkable life.A Zambian official revealed that the 73-year-old retired scientist and conservationist, her ex-husband Mark, and Mark’s son Christopher were all wanted for questioning over an alleged murder in Zambia in 1995 – which was caught on camera.The author is not in any way suspected of involvement in the incident, and there have been no charges laid in the case. Through their lawyers, Mark and Christopher have always denied any wrongdoing.However, the director of public prosecutions in Zambia, Lillian Shawa-Siyuni, told The Atlantic, “They are all wanted for questioning in this case, including Delia Owens.”Delia Owens, author of wildly popular murder-mystery book, Where the Crawdads Sing.The alleged murder was shockingly televised to a nationwide audience in 1996.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterAfter a slower July at the movies, it’s “DC League of Super-Pets” to the rescue.The Warner Bros. animated superhero comedy may not be closing out the month with a bang, but it will at least manage to lead domestic box office charts. Over the weekend, “DC League of Super-Pets” is aiming for $25 million to $30 million when it opens in 4,300 North American theaters, which should be enough to dethrone Jordan Peele’s “Nope” as the No.

Families weren’t scared to return to the box office during the pandemic and have shelled out $300.9M to date on Illumination Entertainment and Universal’s Minions: The Rise of Gru, making it the first animated movie to cross the three century mark stateside during Covid, and since Frozen 2 opened back in November 2019.

Naman Ramachandran Universal’s “Minions: The Rise Of Gru” and Disney’s “Thor: Love And Thunder” were in a neck and neck battle atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with the animated film narrowly besting the Marvel superhero.“Minions: The Rise Of Gru,” which had debuted in pole position in the territory, returned to the top with £3.08 million ($3.7 million) in its fourth weekend, according to numbers released by Comscore.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment WriterSPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot developments in Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Love and Thunder,” currently playing in theaters.When Jennifer Kaytin Robinson first got a call from Marvel Studios, it wasn’t about writing the script for “Thor: Love and Thunder” with director Taika Waititi.“I actually pitched to write ‘Captain Marvel 2,'” Robinson tells Variety.

Zack Sharf Tom Cruise’s “Top: Gun Maverick” is the box winner of the year so far, and it’s not even close. The long-awaited sequel has earned $617 million and counting at the domestic box office and $1.2 billion so far worldwide. Outside of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and its $1.9 billion gross, “Top: Gun Maverick” has been hailed by many in the press as reigniting the box office after the pandemic woes.

Refresh for latest…: There remains plenty of action at the international box office as we head into the dog days of summer and with fewer wide releases to come. This past week and weekend includes milestones aplenty for such films as Thor: Love And Thunder, Minions: The Rise Of Gru, Jurassic World Dominion, and the seemingly unstoppable Top Gun: Maverick. But it’s not a free-for-all as audiences now appear more discerning amid the recent barrage of big-ticket titles — adding to that, there is a very threatening heatwave across European majors which is complicating matters on several levels.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterMarvel’s superhero epic “Thor: Love and Thunder” is nearing the $500 million mark at the global box office, a great result after only 10 days on the big screen.Over the weekend, the fourth comic book movie to center on Chris Hemsworth’s hunky God of Thunder has generated $60.1 million from 47 territories at the international box office and another $46 million domestically for a weekend tally of $102 million. With those ticket sales, the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe installment has earned $264.6 million overseas and $497.9 million worldwide to stand as the sixth-highest grossing Hollywood movie of the year.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterMarvel’s “Thor: Love and Thunder” managed to fend off three new nationwide releases to remain the No. 1 movie in North America.Though ticket sales for “Thor” cratered in its second weekend, falling by 68% to $46 million from 4,375 theaters, the latest installment in Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe easily towered over a trio of newcomers: Sony’s literary adaptation “Where the Crawdads Sing,” Paramount’s animated “Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank” and the Focus Features period drama “Mrs.

The sharp drop is one that has been shared by almost every film in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as “Black Widow,” “Eternals” and “Doctor Universe in the Multiverse of Madness also fell 67-68% in their second weekends. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” also fell 68%, but that’s to be expected after a historic $260 million opening, and it didn’t stop the film from legging out over Christmas to over $800 million domestic and $1.9 billion worldwide.

Jordan Moreau After dominating the box office last weekend, “Thor: Love and Thunder” has two challengers standing in its way: “Where the Crawdads Sing” and “Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank.” Luckily for Thor, these two should be easier opponents than Loki, Thanos or Gorr the God Butcher.Both films open this weekend, with Sony’s “Where the Crawdads Sing” opening to $2.3 million in Thursday previews, and Paramount’s “Paws of Fury” launching with $505,000.Barring a box office miracle, neither film has a chance to take down “Thor: Love and Thunder,” which is expected to take in $55 million to $65 million in its second weekend, after earning a mighty $143 million last week. “Where the Crawdads Sing,” an adaptation of the popular novel, and “Paws of Fury,” an animated family flick, are both projected to take in $10 million this weekend.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterDisney’s “Thor: Love and Thunder,” the fourth standalone Marvel story about Chris Hemsworth’s hulking God of Thunder, picked up $15.7 million on opening day at the international box office.The film is currently playing in 17 overseas markets, including Germany, Italy, Australia and Korea, and it will debut in North America and several other major territories on Friday.Overall ticket sales are pacing 39% ahead of “Thor: Ragnarok” (which ultimately collected $130 million during its opening weekend) and 24% behind “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (which scored a massive $265 million in its international box office debut).By the time Sunday comes around, the newest “Thor” adventure is expected to rake in at least $145 million to $155 million in North America (with some estimates reaching as high as $170 million) and another $140 million to $150 million from overseas markets. For now, “Love and Thunder” is not playing in China, Russia or France.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterGet ready for more Marvel mania.Disney’s “Thor: Love and Thunder,” the fourth standalone story about Chris Hemsworth’s hulking God of Thunder and the second (of three) Marvel movies to play in theaters in 2022, is gearing up to turbocharge the domestic box office. The nth sequel in the sprawling MCU is expected to bring in anywhere from $145 million to $155 million over the weekend, with some estimates reaching as high as $170 million.

Naman Ramachandran Universal’s keenly anticipated animation “Minions: The Rise Of Gru” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £10.4 million ($12.5 million), according to numbers released by Comscore.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterTiny yellow creatures are taking over the international box office.“Minions: The Rise of Gru” ignited to $93.7 million from 61 overseas markets and notched one of the biggest pandemic-era opening weekends for an animated film in many of those territories.Those returns take the fifth installment in Universal and Illumination’s popular “Despicable Me” franchise past $200 million at the global box office. In North America, “The Rise of Gru” debuted to $108 million over the weekend and looks to reach $127.9 million through Independence Day on Monday.Outside of the U.S. and Canada, “Minions: The Rise of Gru” enjoyed the strongest showing in the United Kingdom and Ireland with $12.9 million, followed by Mexico with $12.4 million and Germany with $4.8 million.