LOS ANGELES – “Thor” kicked off the summer movie season by smashing the competition at the box office with a $66 million opening weekend.
The 3-D action picture from Paramount, based on the Marvel comic, was by far the No. 1 movie, according to Sunday studio estimates.
Australian actor Chris Hemsworth stars as the arrogant god of thunder who’s sent down to Earth as punishment. It was directed by Kenneth Branagh, best known for making films based on Shakespeare plays such an epic “Hamlet,” and featured a supporting cast that included Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman and Stellan Skarsgard.
In second place was a holdover from last week, the car-racing sequel “Fast Five” from Universal Pictures. It made $32.5 million for a total of nearly $140 million in just 10 days.
Although the opening for “Thor” wasn’t as enormous as those of other superhero movies, it still exceeded studio expectations, which were around $55 million. It was the third-highest opening for a Marvel franchise launch, behind “Spider-Man,” which made $115 million in 2002, and “Iron Man,” which made $98.6 million in 2008.
Don Harris, Paramount’s executive vice president for distribution, thought the film held appeal for both men and women; 37 percent of the audience was
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