Thor: Love and Thunder is finally in theaters. They bring back many of the same creative team who worked on Thor Ragnarok which brought the character to new heights of popularity. It was a hugely anticipated film that opened in theaters. The movie reached number one at the box office and is expected to be the most popular movie of the summer. The movie is not a huge hit.
The film’s audience and critical reaction are among the lowest for an MCU movie. These films have been a reliable financial hit in the past, but also a favorite of audiences. However, Thor: Love and Thunder’s reaction is more like Thor: The Dark World than Thor Ragnarok.
This follows a trend in recent MCU films that haven’t been able to connect with wider audiences the way they did. It is unlikely to endanger the MCU but it is a concern. This is similar to Batman & Robin.
Batman & Robin = Thor: Love and Thunder
Batman & Robin, which was released in 1997, reunited many of the creative team who worked on Batman Forever. Despite generally negative reviews, it was a huge success and was expected to be the next chapter in the Batman franchise. It was a flop with critics and audiences.
The film is now considered one of the worst superhero films of all time and a punching bag in pop culture. It was a disaster for the Batman franchise and the entire genre of superhero movies. Movie Plus allows you to watch the movie if you have not yet seen it.
There are some superficial similarities between Thor: Love and Thunder and Batman and Robin. Both films feature the fourth entry in a superhero solo film. They also both have a villain motivated by a tragic ending. However, both movies include a central villain where both villains realize their mistakes and find their humanity.
There are many similarities between Thor: Love and Thunder and Batman & Robin. History may repeat itself, which could be a problem for the MCU.
Correction: The Batman Sequel to a Franchise Course
Although it may seem strange to compare Batman & Robin and Thor: Love and Thunder, it is important that you remember that both films are sequels to franchise course corrections that brought back the director who revived the franchise.
Tim Burton had more creative control over 1992’s Batman Returns. It was not as popular as 1989’s Batman. The film was controversial, and many felt it was too dark for young audiences. Parents wrote angry letters to McDonald’s, especially for its Happy Meal tie-in. Warner Bros. decided not to bring back Tim Burton to direct Batman Forever, instead bringing in Joel Schumacher.
Schumacher had originally planned to tell a darker story to adapt Frank Miller’s Batman Year One. However, the studio decided to go with something lighter and more accessible. The studio was looking for an updated 1960s Adam West series that featured villain team-ups and crazy plans. Robin was also introduced.
Batman Forever was released in theaters on June 16, 1995. It was a success and helped to bring the Batman franchise back to life, even though critics were not enthusiastic about it. So it made sense that Schumacher would return for the sequel.
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The Thor Sequel to a Franchise court Correction
The Thor movies were nearly in the same position. Although the original Thor had some humor, the sequel Thor: The Dark World and the Avengers films that he was in at the same time portrayed Thor as a serious character. He seemed to be losing popularity in 2015 after he was compared to Iron Man, Captain America, and the newly introduced Guardians of the Galaxy.
Marvel Studios was forced to rethink Thor after the negative fan and critical reaction to Thor: The Dark World.
Marvel Studios hired Taika Waititi to direct the film. He is best known for his quirky comedies Boy, What We Do in the Shadows, and Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Although Waititi was not what you would expect to be a Thor director, his relaxed approach to the character was exactly what it needed. Thor: Ragnarok received some of the highest reviews in the MCU.
It grossed $853M worldwide. This is a huge improvement over the previous Thor films and outperformed 2017’s Justice League. Marvel Studios saw Thor finally finding his rhythm and greenlit a fourth Thor movie, making him the first solo Marvel hero to be granted four films.
Both Movies Attracted More Audiences With More of The Same
Before their release, both Batman & Robin and Thor: Love and Thunder had high-profile opening weekends. However, critics and audiences were less complimentary. Both films are criticized for essentially repeating the same mistakes that made the first film successful, without offering anything new.
That meant that Batman & Robin had to look more like the 1960s Adam West TV series. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Mr. Freeze spoke mainly in ice puns and had a tongue-in-cheek attitude towards the material. This made sense at the time, since audiences were probably nostalgic for Adam West, while Batman Forever was more child-friendly.
The pendulum may have swung too far, and it might have been seen as a farce, making fun of the material and both the comics, and the 60s series instead of loving adaptations.
Thor: Love and Thunder improved the humor of Thor: Ragnarok. There were more jokes and a lot of improvisation during production. This makes sense. The comedy is not compatible with the source material, which includes the darker Gorr the God Butcher story, and Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor storylines, which are much more serious.
It seemed the right decision on paper. Waititi’s Thor version likely saved the character’s reputation in mainstream audiences. Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit, the previous film by the director, was able to combine a serious subject with absurdist and comic comedy to great effect. The end feels like a lot of comedy and doubling down. If the screaming goats aren’t funny the first time, they won’t be so the seventh time.
Both films opened big, but both were dropped in their second weekend
Although it’s too early to predict how Thor: Love and Thunder will do at the box office, there are striking similarities to Batman & Robin’s opening weekend and second weekends. Batman & Robin opened at number one in 1997 with an impressive $42million, a figure that was significantly lower than Batman Forever’s $52million two years earlier.
Thor: Love and Thunder grossed $143 million on its first weekend. This was an improvement on Thor: Ragnarok and the third largest opening weekend of 2022, behind only Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness and Jurassic World. The film received a lower CinemaScore and saw ticket sales drop by 80% the following Friday. It is expected to fall 68% in its second weekend. Although MCU films are well-known for being front-loaded, this means that word of mouth has been weak, particularly when compared to Thor: Ragnarok.
