Box Office: 'Thor' can't beat 'Fast Five' in Thursday midnights

Chris Hemsworth as the title hero in Marvel Studios' "Thor."

Credit: Marvel Studios

Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures had something to smile about this morning once grosses from "Thor" started to roll in.  The latest comic book hero adaptation grossed $3.3 million from 1,800 theaters screening the potential blockbuster at midnight.  Obviously, nowhere near a record, it's a strong debut for the Kenneth Branagh action flick.  Based on pre-release polling and surprisingly strong reviews, "Thor" is expected to take in anywhere between $75-80 million over the three day weekend.

"Thor's" midnights were good, but they still fell short of "Fast Five's" just a week ago.  "Fast Five" found $3.7 million in less theaters (1,100) and with lower ticket prices ("Thor" is in 3-D and IMAX while "Five" is just in IMAX).  The latest installment of the Vin Diesel and Paul Walker franchise found a potent $86.1 million last weekend and has grossed over $103 million through Wednesday.  Its expected to fall to the no. 2 slot this weekend after "Thor."

Also debuting today is the romantic comedy "Something Borrowed" and "Jumping the Broom."  The latter is expected to have better luck with moviegoers than the former.  Jodie Foster's "The Beaver" opens in limited release in 22 theaters.

Look for continuing box office updates all weekend on HitFix.

Gregory Ellwood
Editor-in-Chief, Co-Founder

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With over a decade of experience in the movie industry, Ellwood survived working for two major studios and has written for Variety, MSN and the LA Times. A co-founder of HitFix, Ellwood spends his time relaxing hitting 3’s on the basketball court and following his beloved Clippers.