In the second week of May, "Thor" premiered to open the summer season, the week after "Fast 5" premiered, kicking off a highly anticipated battle between the two films. However, the direction this battle took left everyone astonished.
During its opening weekend, "Thor" managed to gross a mere $59.61M at the box office. Just a week before, "Fast 5" had raked in an impressive $95M during its opening weekend. When these two opening weekend figures were compared, the staggering difference between them sent shockwaves through the industry, almost too unbelievable to comprehend.
Who could have believed that just a few weeks prior, these two films were considered to be in entirely different leagues, with "Thor" being the heavyweight contender? Yet, the opening weekend box office numbers had completely reversed their standings, as if the world had undergone a drastic transformation in a mere week.
This marked the third time since the official advance of the summer season by a month in 2004 that an opening weekend box office fell below the previous week's figures.
The first instance was in 2005 when the opening film "Kingdom of Heaven" only managed a dismal $19M, while the then previous week's "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" had earned $21M over the weekend. The second instance occurred in 2009 when the opening week of the summer season saw "Star Trek" collecting a respectable $75M, but the preceding "Wolverine" had outshone it with a whopping $85M weekend gross.
In 2011, it was the third occurrence, and the gap was the most significant yet. Such an outcome was steeped in irony, as the smoke of this opening weekend battle had quietly drifted off course from its original trajectory.
Faced with the disappointing opening weekend box office performance of "Thor", questions arose about whether "Fast 5" had a chance to secure a resounding victory. There was excitement, disbelief, anticipation, and even panic. In an instant, all eyes in North America were fixated on this showdown.
According to industry statistics and evaluations, in its second week of release, "Fast 5", despite facing the formidable "Thor" and suffering from the fatigue of its explosive opening weekend, delivered an unexpected drop of 38%, earning $58.9M at the weekend box office.
For a summer blockbuster that opened with over $60M in its premiere weekend, a second-week drop of less than 50% was considered a victory. "Fast 5", however, managed a 38% drop, displaying a performance akin to the legendary box office runs of films like "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", "Inception", and "Finding Nemo". It became the fourth-lowest second-week drop for a film with an opening weekend box office of over $60M in North American cinema history.
Of course, when compared to the astounding box office trajectory of "Shrek 2", which earned a staggering $108M during its opening weekend with only a 33% drop in its second week, "Fast 5" still had a considerable gap to bridge. Nevertheless, its performance unquestionably burst onto the scene in a way that awed audiences across America.
As a point of reference, "Iron Man" experienced a 48% drop in its second week, and the film's cumulative North American box office reached $318M. Now, with "Fast 5" maintaining nearly the same level of opening weekend earnings but with a significantly better second-week drop than "Iron Man," does this imply that the film's final cumulative box office could exceed $318M?
In contrast to the decline of "Thor", the resounding success of "Fast 5" made the gap between the two films increasingly unclear. In the end, "Thor" managed to clinch the crown of the North American weekend box office for the second week of May, but it was a narrow victory, to say the least.
A victory by a hair's breadth, or even one might say, a Pyrrhic victory.
In this opening weekend battle, "Thor", originally the favored contender, saw its advantage erode steadily. Despite holding a strong hand, it found itself in a perilous situation. In the end, it secured the weekend box office crown for the week with a margin of less than a million dollars, igniting the first salvo of the summer season. The intensity of this struggle, the dramatic twists and turns, and the heart-pounding suspense left many in Hollywood drenched in cold sweat.
Though the process was incredibly harrowing, the outcome somewhat disappointing, and their stance undeniably precarious, they had managed to save face. Rather than expressing joy, they felt relief. Paramount heaved a collective sigh of relief, basking in the happiness of surviving such a perilous ordeal.
According to industry rumors, after the rankings were announced on Monday morning, the cast and crew of "Thor", who were promoting the film in San Diego, were seen shedding tears of disappointment. Even the producer, Victoria Alonso, discreetly wiped her eyes.
Chris appeared outwardly composed, but when he stood up, his legs trembled, and he took a few unsteady steps, narrowly avoiding colliding with Natalie nearby. Fortunately, Chris managed to regain his composure just in time, preventing an accident.
During the subsequent fan meet-and-greet event, the "Thor" team managed to regain their spirits. Though disappointment still lingered, they attentively listened to the opinions of the critics during interviews and interacted with fans. They expressed their willingness to listen to more audience feedback and looked forward to doing better in their next project. They also expressed confidence, believing that loyal fans would provide more thoughtful recognition in the future.
This turned out to be the best promotional outing for "Thor" since the comprehensive reviews came out. San Diego's promotion was also highly successful. After the meet-and-greet, the lead actors, including Chris and Natalie, stayed at the theater, taking photos, hugging fans, and signing autographs. All of these interactions were captured and gradually spread through Facebook and YouTube, garnering a lot of positive feedback and injecting a shot of adrenaline into the team.
This grand opening weekend battle had finally come to a temporary conclusion, but it was by no means the end.
The future box office performance of "Fast 5" and "Thor" remained the focal point of everyone's attention. Could they reach two billion? Would they break the three billion mark? Where would the final box office figures settle? In comparison to their budgets, would these films turn a profit? Both were part of ongoing franchises, so how would this box office performance affect future installments?
More importantly, the lackluster performance of "Thor" raised questions about its impact on other superhero movies adapted from comics that were scheduled for release during the summer season. Did it indicate untapped market potential or a negative impression among audiences for this genre of films?
But at least, the first phase of the battle had finally concluded.
"Fast 5", emerging as the dark horse, led in all aspects, from opening weekend box office to critical acclaim and audience feedback. Although it couldn't secure the top spot, it managed to push "Thor" into such a sorry predicament with an outstanding second-week drop. In the end, it settled for second place with an incredibly slender margin, and this could still be considered a victory.
As for "Thor", it was battered, disheveled, and scarred, and even though it managed to salvage a hint of its pride in its sorry state, it was a mere drop in the ocean. Its hopes now rested on the subsequent box office decline not being too severe and the more crucial overseas earnings. This was Paramount's top priority to avoid incurring losses, so as one battle ended, many more wars loomed on the horizon, and no one could afford to let their guard down.
Whether it was "Thor" or "Fast 5," both film crews and their respective companies had gathered themselves, preparing for the next phase of promotion. "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" was just two weeks away, a box office giant that could make everyone wary. This also meant they had one week of buffer time and one week to boost their box office earnings.
However, on Tuesday morning, all of North America was thrown into chaos!
According to the usual process, the exhibitors should have announced the revised and exact box office figures for the weekend, possibly down to the last digit. All media outlets would typically confirm this out of habit, checking if there were any changes in the rankings after the box office figures were adjusted. However, such incidents were exceedingly rare. But this time, the official website issued a special announcement: "Exact box office figures are in, and there's a new champion."
After precise box office calculations, "Thor" earned $59.23M over the weekend, slightly lower than the initial estimates. The drop in ticket sales on Sunday was higher than anticipated, indicating that the film's lukewarm reception had inevitably affected its box office performance.
In contrast, "Fast 5" saw a slight increase in box office figures compared to the predictions, with an exact total of $59.45M. Nevertheless, its drop was still 38%, with a minor adjustment after the decimal point. This installment, renowned for its critical acclaim, continued to surge forward.
Breaking the statistics down to the last digit, "Fast 5" had earned $227,222 more over the weekend than "Thor".
In other words, with the revised box office data, "Fast 5" barely retained its crown for the second week of its release, maintaining its dominance by a razor-thin margin. "Thor", on the other hand, surprisingly settled for second place despite its thunderous momentum, clear path to victory, and immense power surge during the final push. The outcome was an all-encompassing defeat.
It's worth noting that this was the first time since the advance of the summer season by a month in 2004 that the opening film of the summer failed to capture the weekend box office crown, delivering an unprecedented shock and challenge to the magic of the summer season.
Defeat, a genuine and undeniable defeat. Not only Paramount and the team behind "Thor", but the entire North American market and the Hollywood industry fell into a stunned silence. Though people had speculated, eagerly anticipated, and entertained the idea in their minds, "What if "Thor" doesn't manage to clinch the top spot?" When all of this became a reality, when it transformed from conjecture to fact, the shock and astonishment silenced all voices.
In the North American weekend box office rankings for the second week of May, the champion was "Fast 5", and the runner-up was "Thor". The opening battle had finally, officially, drawn to a close.
And the last shred of dignity of "Thor" had been torn away.