‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Set To Beat ‘Justice League’ In The Film’s Debut Weekend In North America
As if the Justice League reviews weren’t bad enough news for Warner Bros. (and DC fans), it looks like Justice League is also not going to do so well in its first week of opening. The film is currently tracking to open at $110 million at the North American box office, which is significantly less than the Taika Waititi #Marvel film Thor: Ragnarok.
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According to Variety, Justice League is set to make $110 million at 4,040 North American locations and although the numbers the DC film is currently crunching aren’t bad, they fall short of expectations when compared to Marvel’s latest film, Thor: Ragnarok. The Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Cate Blanchett superhero film has exceeded expectations at the box office, largely due to the film’s mass critical acclaim. The Marvel film made $122.7 million in its debut weekend in North America, which is ahead of the prediction for Justice League. This does not bode well for Warner Bros. given that the DC superhero team up is basically equivalent to the Avengers, and thus the numbers for the film should easily trump Ragnarok.
Although the early buzz for the film was decidedly positive, the film’s harsh reviews paint a whole other picture — and may lead to the film underperforming at the box office. Still, there’s a chance that audiences will react positively to the Zack Snyder/Joss Whedon directed pic. The film, while still not of Wonder Woman’s calibre, has been deemed as a marked improvement over the studio’s other #DCEU films, Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad — even by critics who disliked the film. And considering that both films did remarkably well despite the backlash, it’s still possible that Justice League ends up raking in some good money. It’s also worth noting that the film upped its promotional game in comparison to previous DC films. This included making Japanese promos, using Mexico’s Independence Day to promote the film and the cast even uniting in China to promote the film.
Warner Bros. has had a good year so far — Wonder Woman, Dunkirk and It all did extraordinary business — but it seems likeJustice League may be bringing the good times to an end. The Super Friends film was costly to make (analysts peg it right around the $300 million mark), and it’ll need to do some solid box office business to satisfy the studio. It’s also been reported that the fate of several upcoming DC Comics films depends on the success of Justice League, so a lot is at stake for DC, Warner Bros. and fans of these superhero comics. How it’ll all play out is yet to be determined, but fans can at least console themselves with the fact that this #DC film will certainly warrant another sequel. And if the post-credit scene is any indication, it’ll be something truly amazing.
