Theaters are in great shape, records have been broken since the beginning of the year and the fourth installment of the Thor saga, Love and Thunder, exploded in North American theaters this weekend, ousting the Minions from the top spot at the box office, according to estimates by Exhibitor Relations.

The hammer-wielding superhero from the Nordic cold, now in his fourth big-screen incarnation with Marvel and fighting an intergalactic killer, is played by Chris Hemsworth, accompanied by Natalie Portman and Christian Bale.

The director Taika Waititi has accumulated since its release Friday, July 8, 143 million USD in theaters in the United States and Canada, a big figure, up from the last episode.

An “excellent” start for Marvel and a 4th opus that works much better than other superhero movies at the same stage, notes expert David Gross, from Franchise Entertainment Research.

He relegated the film, The Minions 2: Once Upon a Time Gru, to second place after leading the previous weekend, which earned 45.5 million USD, a total of 210 million since its release.

In the third position, the blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick maintains very good performances for its seventh week in theaters, attracting about 15.5 million USD since Friday, July 8.

Since its release, Tom Cruise’s return to the elite of U.S. Army fighter pilots has now generated USD 597 million.

In its third week, Elvis, the baroque and extravagant biopic about the king of rock and roll falls to fourth place with 11 million, again according to Exhibitor Relations.

Jurassic World: The Next World, the sixth installment of the cult dinosaur saga, came fifth with $8.4 million.