In 2013, Marvel released Thor: The Dark World. It was a hit movie, of course, but the promotion for it was so odd. Chris Hemsworth barely did a thing to promote it, and it got to the point where I was constantly calling him The Largely Absent Hemsworth. The promotional duties largely fell on Tom Hiddleston, and Hiddles was sent on a whirlwind, worldwide adventure involving tons of interviews, dancing, silly videos and sonnet-recitation to swans. It was a glorious time to be alive. Skip ahead to right now, and it did feel like Thor: Ragnarok was released with not a lot of promotion. Chris Hemsworth took the lead, but Tom was largely in the wind. I don’t think Tom even did one magazine interview to promote Ragnarok. It was weird.
In any case, Thor: Ragnarok has become the biggest box office opening of the three Thor films. Ragnarok opened in North America this weekend and it scored $121 million at the weekend box office, making it one of the biggest box office openings of the year.
Disney-Marvel’s “Thor: Ragnarok” is heading for a stellar opening weekend with $121 million at 4,080 North American locations — the fourth best launch of 2017. The third Thor movie is also putting an emphatic end to the month-long box office slump that saw the worst October in a decade. Among 2017 titles, its debut weekend trails only “Beauty and the Beast” at $174.8 million, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” at $146.5 million and “It” at $123.4 million.
“Thor: Ragnarok” also officially launches the holiday season with a major bang. Moviegoing has been battered this year by a subpar second half that’s pulled down 2017 grosses by 5%, but it should rebound somewhat, thanks to “Thor: Ragnorak” — which already cut the decline to 4.8% as of Sunday with $8.93 billion. Warner Bros.-DC Entertainment’s “Justice League” (which opens Nov. 17) and Disney-Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (opening Dec. 15) should keep the positive momentum going.
“Thor: Ragnarok” wound up over-performing recent estimates, which had been in the $100 million to $118 million range. The rollout includes 3,400 3D screens, 391 Imax screens, 616 premium large format screens, and 204 D-Box locations. The Imax domestic total was $12.2 million, second best of 2017. With Chris Hemsworth reprising the title role, “Thor: Ragnarok” will finish far above its predecessors, nearly doubling the 2011 opening of “Thor” at $65.7 million and coming in 41% above the 2013 sequel “Thor: The Dark World” at $85.7 million.
This says a lot – it says that people enjoy Chris Hemsworth in this role (and literally no other role). It says that Marvel still has the Midas touch. It says that director Taika Waititi is great at what he does and he should be invited to do many more big-budget films. It also says that Marvel doesn’t actually need their actors to do these kinds of exhaustive promotional tours. I think Marvel has halfway figured that out too – the promotional tours have been cut down over time, and I think the actors are probably a lot happier with that. And most of all, this success shows that you don’t actually need Tom Hiddleston to sell these movies everywhere, because he was barely seen during this promotional tour. You know where he was seen though? Atlanta, where the latest Avengers movie is filming. I guess Loki will be in that one.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Does Hiddleston have a major role in the film? I’ve only seen one of the Thor films, and he didn’t really have much screen time?
He was in it quite a lot.
Much bigger than Dark World anyway, he could have featured more in the publicity but given that Hulk is in this, Ruffalo could and has taken on some of that.
Whether it was his decision to take a back seat or Marvel, who knows..
Depends on which of the first 2 movies you saw. The original Thor? Yes. The second? To a much lesser extent. Mostly the second act.
Hiddleston and the rest of the cast did an enormous amount of publicity on SOCIAL MEDIA. There are numerous interviews, funny vignettes, and games. I saw 3 interviews just with Tom and Tessa. Young people do not watch talk shows. Marvel saw this tracking through the roof weeks ago. Now a movie that needed all the help it could get was SKULL ISLAND. Hiddleston and Larson promoted the hell out of that. It overperformed, and the trade papers complimented the cast.
He’s a key character and gets a lot of screen time. Marvel was promoting this as a buddy movie with Thor & Hulk. Also promoting the villain Hela, because, well, Cate Blanchett, and the new character Valkryie so Tom wasn’t really needed for promotion. Also completely missing from PR for this was Idris Elba.
Yup yup LP.
Big names and new characters = too many cooks in the kitchen on this movie.
He is second billed. Also, Loki is one of the most popular characters for MARVEL fans.
Hiddles ought to thank the heavens for Loki. At this point, fans associating him with Loki is preferential to associating him with Hiddleswift. At least Loki has some swag. Hiddleswift was a most epic fail.
Movie fans. I loved him in the comics and it’s awesome to see Loki getting shine. But if he was actually cast to how he looked in comics pre- movie I think we’d have a more Steve Valentine Loki. And the girls wouldn’t have gone as wild LOL I’m thankful for Tom
Yes! He was great in the film, and I adored all his brotherly scenes with Thor.
I think his chemistry with Hemsworth is awesome, their scenes together have been my favorites in all 3 Thor movies.
Agree. A favorite scene was when they cannot find Odin. Loki says “I’m not a witch.” Thor quips, “Why are you dressed like one?”
He was in it much more than I had expected given early descriptions of the film. I agree with other commenters that his comedic timing wasn’t as on point as in previous films–maybe because this one was more hilarious than the other ones so his subtleties were a little lost.
I saw it Friday night. It was actually a hilarious movie on top of all the action–Chris Hemsworth really does comedy well. Overall it was a pretty fantastic movie. Tom Hiddleston had his fair share of laughs, although he wasn’t nearly as great as Chris.
I agree it is funny, but I also felt the brothers lacked depth of character.
I actually felt like it finally gave the characters more depth. Not a Hiddles fan and I don’t get the hype around Loki at all, but he did a fine job in this. Jeff Goldblum stole the show though.
I have to agree with ichsi – I thought the film gave the brothers a different dimension that wasn’t just about how much Loki resented Thor. In Ragnorak, we got some background into their childhood together, and their last scene together was so great.
“I *am* here.” *FEELS*
I liked that we got to see Chris’ comedic side. I think he should do more comedic roles. He was hilarious in that National Lampoon Vacation movie and the best thing about Ghost Busters.
@L84Tea — I saw it on Saturday and agree it was hilarious. Didn’t realize CH could do comedy so well, he was pretty good.
I’m Loki fan too but, imo, I didn’t think he was in this movie a lot.
I saw it yesterday on VMAX and really enjoyed it, though it gave me a cracking headache that lasted for hours. My eyes don’t cope with all the colour and craziness. The transitions between comedy and seriousness was really well done. You really need to have seen the first Avengers movie to understand many of the jokes. A hell of a lot happened in it, mind still computing. Most entertaining film I’ve seen as the cinema in a while to be honest.
aaaah it was so good! La Blanchette was totally hot, Loki in all black is my teenage goth wet dream, and Thor with short Hair…dayummmm.
oh, yeah, also pretty funny!
I saw it, it was cute. Funny. The actors did well, Hiddleston included. Another Marvel movie, enjoyed it and forgot it ten minutes later. No need to see it again. Really not a big deal.
My husband lives for Marvel, so I’m his plus one at every movie. Honestly, I don’t mind. I liked the movie and I like him. The Hulk is everything. God, did Tom ever dodge a bullet. Hope he can live his life without that girl’s name attached to it.
Nancy, no genuine MARVEL fan cares about that. How are you?
I am fab, family is well and I’m off to have my golden locks trimmed!! Hope you and your “baby” girl are doing well, you’re the best mom. What don’t I care about in Marvel????? I live for Iron Man. Can’t imagine not having Robert Downey, Jr. Have to scoot off but wish you a happy first week of November!!
I felt the opposite. There seemed to be a lot of promotion. Apparently the budget was $180M, so that makes sense (but also way too much money). However, I will say that I’m more sensitive to promotion with movies I like because a bajillion different trailers and snippets are released that sometimes ruin the movie. Give me a sense of the plot, a feel for the tone and then we’re done.
ETA: want to say that I Saw the movie on Saturday and loved it. The departure in tone from the first two films and Thor as in the comics was slightly jarring, but done so well that it’s no big deal. I wish some scenes had a little more weight to them, but ultimately I loved it.
I felt the same way…I absolutely adored this movie, but there were moments where I wish they explored the more serious moments with more gravity, e.g. Odin. They seemed to whiz right past them in favor of the adventure and comedy stuff. But otherwise, I’m excited to see this again on Blu-ray.
Same! Ragnarok in and of itself is a very serious storyline. I really enjoyed the twist on it, but would like some of the dark/sad moments a little time to breath. However, I too will still have a great time watching it again and again.
Same here.
The success of this I am laying squarely at the wonderful feet of Taika Waititi, and I suppose Marvel for giving him what appears to be free reign and thus injecting something badly needed into the Thor movies.
Saw it last week and I just loved it, the humour was clever, the music was synthtastic (with Stranger Things etc bringing the 80s forward it was very very clever) and visually it was incredible
“visually it was incredible”
I’m amazed to hear someone say this. The opening scene was impressive but while the design was strong I thought visually it was painfully cartoonish. There wasn’t a second that I wasn’t aware of the heavy green screen. It felt almost claustrophobic. Of course I’ve thought that of most of Marvel stuff. They’re great with casting and humour but visually it’s a TV show at best…and even there, Game of Thrones is more visually impressive.
well I think I went into it with the knowledge that it was heavily green screened. I suppose I mean from a CGI perspective. CGI doesn’t always mean it’ll look good, I liked the comic book element feel it had and felt it was done well. The Thor movies were always pretty much heavily green screened except when it moved to Earth or the larger set pieces such as the throne room. I wouldnt say it’s as bad as tv shows, Once Upon a Time being an example that relies heavily on green screen in parts and it’s always blindingly obvious and painful.
I did think the Odin scene was awful in terms of visuals but it was relatively brief.
Have you seen the art of Jack Kirby? The visuals were a straight homage to Jack Kirby, who drew most of the colorful, “everyone is on acid, right?” comics at Marvel. And while there is obviously green screen, I was struck by how much was also clearly built sets, from all of the interiors of Sakaar to the plaza in Asgard, to Doctor Strange’s house, most of the green screen was limited to exterior stuff, which is par for the course with film now (even indies will have green screen exteriors). I thought this Thor hit the right mix of physical sets and green screen polish, and I love that they gave it a kick up with the color and the Flash Gordon chintz. It all worked with the tone so well.
That Odin scene, though, was obviously not shot in a field.
Lindy79, it was actually Chris Hemsworth who begged the CEO for a less serious character and more humor (I wish I could put my hand on the interview I read where he stated the name of the executive to whom he pleaded his case). It was just kismet that the director had the same vision. 😉 Many of the humorous exchanges were ad libbed by the actors.
Feige. Chris is great at humor and TDW fiasco I think is responsible for Marvel being more willing to loosen the reins
Also they let Chris and Mark be funny. Esp Chris. He’s got comedic timing and Marvel has been using it more and more. I found the movie delightful and the best Thor by miles.
I’m glad it was a success for Tom’s sake. Is it weird that I’m all worried about his career post Taylor?
Squirrelgirl. If Hiddleston’s career is in trouble, the trade papers would report it. I am repeating myself because I urge everyone to read them. They only do facts, no gossip
“They only do facts, no gossip”
Ohhhhh, I don’t know about that. They make publicist deals all the time. Also let’s just say more than a few of them will have a lot to answer for in not addressing Weinstein, Spacey, and more to come. “Complicit” is the word we will be hearing.
Hiddleston is not really a big enough deal for a “career examination” in the trades. They’d look at a Clooney, Damon, Affleck, or Pitt. Overall he’s fine though. He tried to level up on the star meter a bit, it didn’t really work out but he’s far from the first to try and continue on. Focus on some strong supporting roles and great TV and he’s fine. It’s a healthier place to be, if not the top of the pyramid.
It’s actually Hemsworth who is in a bit of a spot. The industry and his reps actively pushed him as a leading man…to absolute failure outside of Thor. He needs to recalibrate moving forward.
We saw a preview for a new film with Hemsworth. I don’t know if it will help. People saying he should do comedy are probably right. Actually the trades did do analysis on Elba and John Hamm. However, as you indicate the biggest career examination was the declining box office of the once invincible Cruise. I actually hope Hiddleston does more TV and stage work. He’s far ahead of most actors in his age group as a stage actor.
Another Ps to Mia. You are talking about the Peter Bart situation? I almost forgot. Another geeezer may bite the dust.
Hey Squirrelgirl. I kind of get the feeling we should know each other!
PS to Mia, your analysis of Tom H.’s career is right on the money. I get weary of all the “career obituaries” about a number of actors we see here.
Secret Squirrel yes we do!!!
I wouldn’t worry about that. She’s on to her new relationship and he’s old news. He kept a low profile since then, I don’t think many people outside of the gossip world remember or care. He’s a good actor, he’ll be fine.
I like Hiddles. I’d like to see him in other movies besides being Loki. I would never have bought him as Bond, tho. And sadly, IMO, his oddball Taylor Swift “relationship/PR photos” have somehow lowered his hotness level. Also, the movie with him starring as Hank Williams was a very bad idea. His team needs to find him a role that highlights his talent. Maybe he is meant to be 2nd banana, he hasn’t found a role he can carry a movie yet. He ain’t getting any younger either.
Also, to add, I am loving his longer reddish hair and beard look he’s rocking lately. Reminds me of the War Horse promo and Hollow Crown.
Alas, the beard is gone. It was gone right after the Ragnarok premiere when he was spotted at some theater event in London but the curls remained. And pictures from this week show him in full Loki gear on the set of Avengers 4 so beard definitely gone.
oh poo!!
But yay I suppose to the Avengers news
This film actually rests on Thor’s (and a bit Hulk’s) shoulders, not Loki’s like in The Dark World did, so promotion being done by Hemsworth and Ruffalo makes sense. But yeah, the Marvel brand promotes itself, and that’s great.
Hate Hiddles’ facial hair. Ugh. With that beard, please stay out of the public eye.
I prefer him with a naked chin too!
Storylines matter. Ragnarok, like Civil War is very popular in the comic book versions so since the previews make it look like they did justice to it-cartoon nerds will natural follow and the girlfriends/wives will go for the eye candy.
I didn’t get a chance to see it this weekend but will tomorrow after work. So I’m going to leave this thread to avoid spoilers.
Regarding Tiddles: these superhero movies have a majority male fanbase. They like big strongmen. You can’t try to sell them as badass Loki after they have seen you wearing a I love T.S. tank. Sexist I know but Ben Affleck the jerk would probably get more respect than being seen as too girly.
Great comment if you want to re-inforce stereotypes. Comics and comic-book movies have an audience that is 50% female. Same for video-games. Not girls that get dragged in by their boyfriends, but girls who are nerds.
Anatha A, according to the Thor: Ragnarok weekend stats from Box Office Mojo, the split was 56% male, 44% female, and 63% of the audience were over 25 years of age (this last is my favorite percentage, because the industry is still hard-wired to believe only people under 24 go see movies like this).
“cartoon nerds will natural follow and the girlfriends/wives will go for the eye candy.”
Or in this case, as with most of my friends, the (female) comic nerds go and we bring our husbands / boyfriends / same sex partners as our plus ones. Why does this old stereotype still hold when women are generally the ones buying movie tickets?
Or you know, both people want to see it because Marvel movies are entertaining.
Sadly, a lot of retailers feel the same as this… This is why it pisses me off when I go into shops to buy for my daughter and all the superhero stuff is in the boys sections. Needless to say mini Lindy wears a lot of “boys” tops.
I did too as a child Lindy. Hopefully there will continue to be more collections for girls. My mom would shop in the girls and boys sections for me to get the clothes I liked. Sparkly tutu with a comic shirt was a common outfit for me.
Eventually my mom started screen printing onto plain tees for me.
My daughter too. Thankfully even at 16 she fits a boys large, so she gets minecraft and pokemon shirts at a good price (the adult pricing is horrible).
On the other side, my son likes cats and my little pony, to name a few, so to slove that problem (he will wear a softer pink but not that garish hot pink), my daughter, who is very artistic, just designs him shirts. Last year he got a fantastic Hobbes shirt for Christmas.
I saw it this weekend and loved it. But I have to disagree that these movies have a mostly male fanbase. I’ve been loving comic book movies since the first Spiderman trilogy (and have hated many of the more recent ones) and every time I go see one, it’s pretty much 50/50 women/men. And they’re not all couples. I think if this were true, there’s no way these films would make the money they do.
Wouldn’t any trip to Comic Con or article about it disabuse someone of the notion that MARVEL movies have few female fans?
The gender breakdown for RAGNORAK. Male 56%, female 44%. Hardly an overwhelming male majority. Facts count, even in show business.
Then explain Hiddleston’s active promotion of Big Monster Action Ape Movie , on the beginning of this very year.
I have to disrespectfully disagree with this comment. When I went to watch this with my guy friends and boyfriend, they’re all Loki fanboys. One of them was wearing a Loki shirt to the movie theatre and one of them named his dog Loki. When I asked if their perception of Tom had changed because of the, “I heart TS”, tank top, they were like, “Huh? Oh hahahhaa who cares, who hasn’t done silly a** stuff like that for a chick?”, and I was like, but dont you think it makes you see him as less manly or something, I got a pretty eye-opening response, “Sheesh, let’s not vilify the guy for it, sure it’s not the manliest thing but so what, Loki is awesome!!”
So there’s that. Also, the movie booth had this promo where they were selling character figurines and tumblers, guess whose was selling the most? I mostly saw Loki’s horns topping tumblers of the guys buying them and Hell’s horns for the girls but I saw that the ones who had Mjolnir or Hulk hand toppers were kids.
*Edit : I have to *respectfully not disrespectfully
Also, I never thought Tom was less manly because of wearing the tank top, I asked that because I wanted to get a guys perspective and it’s a relief to know that guys these days are non-judgmental and don’t let something as silly as that make them think less of a person or make them think their fellow man is less manly for engaging in something as silly as that. Was it embarrassing and cringeworthy? Absolutely, but I don’t think it ruined any Marvel fans perspective of how they saw Loki, that’s just silly.
@Original T.C. Badass Loki is still badass Loki, regardless of that I love TS tank top he’s worn in the past. I find what Tom did awkward and OTT but doing something like that doesn’t make him less of a “big strongman” or less of a man. Again, i have to respectfully disagree with your comment.
@millie and @third ginger I agree with you both.
i hardly think Marvel designed the film round that tee-shirt 🙄
Aurora, only people who are very deep in gossip world are still making that connection. Also, people who know nothing about MARVEL or show business. Hello to Millie.
Hello to you. You guessed?
“You can’t try to sell them as badass Loki after they have seen you wearing a I love T.S. tank”
This is lame. Fact is, on whole, comic book movie fans scoff at chick-gossip culture. If some Taylor fan or gossip-girl type is outside of her little sm circles, she will find her perspective on movie character actors are very different from the fan base of these movies. Sm/chick gossip has no weight in comic book film culture and is usually considered petty and b*tchy.
Furthermore, who really drives these movies are comic book fans and block buster, action movies fans that have become comic book movie fans. This particular genre of action/fantasy films is extremely success full because they didn’t only target young boys but made it accessible to girls too. The actual target category, especially for Disney, is the “family movie” label, and although there’s violence, it’s somewhat tame for today’s US mainstream, and it’s cloaked in the guise of make-believe fantasy.
+1000
Saw it on Saturday. It was by far the best Thor film and quite enjoyable and funny AND colourful. Hemsworth is pure comedy, he should stick to that.
He looks so sexy with his hair like this, and his facial hair makes him look even better. Beautiful. I can’t wait to see this movie
I saw the film yesterday and let me tell you: TAIKA SHOULD DIRECT ALL THE MOVIES ALL THE TIME! Rachel House more or less resumed her role from Hunt for the Wilderpeople. She was pure comedy gold opposite Jeff Goldblum. This movie is so good, there are no words. Tessa was buff and badass and I loved her, but I was a bit disappointed because she can do more in terms of acting, see Creed. And Cate Blanchett was the best evil villainess of all evil villainesses. She had *so* much fun, you could tell. And by the way, Karl Urban? I peed a little at “and this is my stuff”. Hiddle broke out laughing in one take, too. They must have had the best of times. This movie. THIS MOVIE! It’s perfect.
Agree about Taika directing all the movies all the time. I laughed my ass off for most of the film. Excellent comedic timing, especially from Hemsworth. Cate Blanchett was underused but looked GORGEOUS in character. Wowza.
Valkyrie’s flash back? God, I want Tiziano to paint that scene on my ceiling.
Hemsworth should learn from Brad Pitt’s mistakes and pursue a career in comedy.
I absolutely loved Tessa in this, personally. She was my favorite part of the movie. I hope the success of this one means we’ll get a women of colour led superhero flick soon enough. Taika did an awesome job directing. I hope he does more work in the genre!
I saw Thor on Sat. My sister and I did not love it. We both thought the plot meandered and was boring. There were a lot of great actors in this movie that were under utilised such as the great Blanchett, Goldblum. Tessa was great! More Tessa. More Valkyries plot please! They just skipped over that beautifully done scene. What? I love movies and Marvel movies but this way underwhelmed me. IMO, it could have used a little more editing (2 hrs long) and little more plot.
I also enjoyed Karl Urban’s turn. Funny film.
Thor: Ragnarok is not without its wonderfully silly promotion, just not a lot of it, but this gave me life and the whole cast involved (no Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba, or Karl Urban sadly) seem to be having a great time with it. It is 11 minutes long but glorious in its silliness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8atgsWFfDOg
Thanks lp. Very funny!
“The Evil Cate Blanchett”
It is funny – love the way Tom’s wig falls off.
I liked Tom better in Thor2. Hemsworth was working in Asia on that unfortunate Black Hat movie when Tom was dancing singing and promoting Thor2. Looks like the on set photos coming from Atlanta, there is a throwback scene to The Avengers movie. The actors are wearing their clothes and the Asgardians have their hair styles from that film.
And Loki has his cuts and ball gag.
ball gag hahaa
We saw it last night and I giggled from start to finish, definitely a fun movie that helped me forget the problems of the world for two hours. Chris and Tom both did great, I love to hate Loki and hope we see more of him in the future. The entire cast was great, Cate Blanchett looked sexy as hell, and Jeff Goldblum was hilarious and plays his usual self😄 Worth watching.
I’m a huge marvel zombie and Thor has been my favorite comic book character for more than 20 years now. To be honest the first Thor film, which I was going crazy for before its release, was a big disappointment and Dark World is one of Marvel’s weaker films which just left me feeling “meh” but I saw this movie on opening day and wow, I mean just WOW!
It is, in a word, amazing. The perfect cinematic amalgamation of the Walter Simonson Thor/Ragnarok stories and the Greg Pak Planet Hulk story repackaged for the Marvel Cinematic universe. The cast is perfect, the plot is perfect, the effects are brilliant, Taika is GOD. I honestly can’t even nitpick. (Though if I absolutely had to. SPOILERS!……………….. I would say that I am going to miss the Warriors Three as I feel they have yet to get their due on screen and now they obviously won’t)
But long story short, the movie is a huge win. So well done and so much fun. If I worked on the DC movies I’d seriously consider pushing the Justice League release date waaay back and then kill myself
It was a super-enjoyable film. Taika did a great job, better than Alan Taylor for Dark World, but I do have a few quibbles with his pacing. There was some seriously dramatic stuff going on in some scenes, and it never felt like the characters (or the audience) got to take a moment to absorb or react to any of it. There would be a big dramatic revelation or loss, and a split second later everyone had moved on to the next punchline without breaking stride.
I think I think it became pretty obvious during the promotion of TDW that Taylor was very unhappy with the editing and final result of the film. Didn’t they chop a lot out to get the running time down?
I remember Taylor saying Marvel took control away at some point. After that, more Loki was added.
Remember when Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman) had signed on to direct? In retrospect, it’s probably for the best she opted out, but I would like to know more about what she had in mind for the film.
“There was some seriously dramatic stuff going on in some scenes, and it never felt like the characters (or the audience) got to take a moment to absorb or react to any of it. There would be a big dramatic revelation or loss, and a split second later everyone had moved on to the next punchline without breaking stride.”
Yeah I can agree with that.
Tessa Thompson was a revelation. She was amazing and stole the show for me every time she popped up. I also love how her character was written. I’m glad that Marvel actually listened to criticism and included POC in this film and didn’t have them be props for Thor but actual people instead. Bravo!
Agree! Just said above that I hope the success means we’ll get a WOC led superhero flick soon, fingers crossed.
And that they wear snsible costumes like BW instead of skimpy bikini types from the comics.
I loved Thor! Chris Hemsworth should def do more comedy..he is really funny! I do enjoy his comedic timing, he was so funny on SNL.
Tom is handsome and hilarous as usual.
Saw it and loved it. Was a lot of fun.
Hiddles did a lot in this marketing trail. They just pushed Chris and mark more as it was billed a buddy comedy.
But, but, this suggests that actors do magazine and talk show interviews because the movie studios want them to promote their movies, and not because they’re thirsty famewhores who are desperate for attention!!!111
:-0
Yeah, so Marvel have been pushing the Hulk-Thor bromance aspect of the film in marketing, and as a result it’s Hemsworth and Ruffalo who have been doing the hard PR slog – on social media as well as in person
They haven’t been on an epic press tour because they’re needed for IF2/A4 filming, but they’ve been pretty active. We don’t know how much of the marketing plan was reliant on actor availability and how much was based on test screening feedback, but you can safely assume that if Marvel had required it Hiddleston would have done more too.
Thank you for that comment Emma! You mean when actor promote movies and tv shows heavily it is because they are selling the show (as they are contracted to do), not because they are “thirsty” and famewhores? Who woulda thunk it?😉
Omg! Thank you. Same to Justme.
Hiddles did the heavy lifting promoting TDW because Chris and Natalie were filming and promoting other movies. It makes sense anyway because this was the next step in Loki’s story after the big splash he made in Avengers which is the film that solidified his popularity among most Marvel fans other than those that weren’t already Loki fans.
In Ragnarok Loki’s character is one among new characters and new villains. and the Hulk crossover would seem the most lead character storyline. In audience testing for Avengers 2-AOUltron, when shown the version that Loki in Thor’s dream scene, the audience made assumptions that Loki’s role was more prominent in the next movie. Marvel does not like to let too much out before the next movie, and they don’t like some of the pressure they get to change or cater to fan favorites in the multi-crossover Marvel Univrse.
I went to watch it for my beloved Benny Cumberbatch and his very small role is what I quite enjoyed. Well, in addition to my crush Mark Ruffalo. I really just like how he looks n how he talks. I actually don’t find Chris Hemsworth hot at all. Hollywood movies have gotten so predictable (or is it that I’ve grown and I’m now jaded?) that I feel shortchanged if I go watch a superhero movie without a child in tow. Kids are still easily impressed whereas I leave feeling I could have written a better, less predictable plot.
Dr. Strange is my husband’s favorite character, also. He went because I love Thor and Loki and because I assured him of the cameo.
In the Dark World TH was the saving grace of a mediocre movie. Both in terms of character and promotion. With Ragnarok he is (just) another great part of a great movie.
I think the critics agree.
…Tom did nothing but provide the movie’s most poignant emotional arc, but OK.
And he’s such a famewhore. Really so obvious now, isn’t it. 🙄
*heavy sarcasm*
LOVED the movie, btw. Best MCU film yet. Mostly bc of Loki and Taika. And Hemsworth is hilarious.
Am I the only one who feels Hiddles had a real wobble post tiddlesbanging and took a big break from everything? Only indulging in a short Shakespeare run?
No, you’re not. So undeserved. Sometimes the hardest lessons are the most effective.
The short Shakespeare run is the only visible work, but it doesn’t mean it’s the only work he has done.
Early Man, from what they said at the press event the other week, has been an on-going commitment with recording sessions every few months.
He has definitely filmed stuff for Infinity War 1&2/Avengers 3&4, which we’ll be seeing more of in due course, and they’re likely working on a script for season 2 of The Night Manager – which might not ever come to fruition, if they can’t come up with a story that works, but you can bet your arse they’ll have given it their best shot. He’s an exec producer so he’ll have worked on it even if we never see it.
Plus there’s the UNICEF documentary he was working on at the start of the year.
I wonder if he’s going to change agencies. They’re obviously not worth their fees if they aren’t getting him work. Perhaps there is a dispute between him and his agent(s). Maybe his contract is coming up and he’s considering new representation &/or they’re not putting in any effort and shelving him. I think they used him because they saw the potential for a big pay off with little effort and cost put in. They saw he had a big fan base and an on going Marvel contract, but they did NOT take care of him. They didn’t give him good advice or think of his career in terms the long run. It seemed to be about making the biggest impact now for US BO sales so they could get a good % fee. Not about what some of the impact was doing to his rep.
I know some will say it’s Tom’s fault that he’s thirsty, but I don’t think it was just that. I truly think Tom was pretty naive to how treacherous and user-y the business is. After all, whether it be circumstances of privilege or temperament, he is a natural born snowflake. Secondly, aren’t agents/managers are supposed to look out for an actors career? Or is that to just a precious, snowflake expectation? To answer my question, yes. I think in show biz even those that have good intentions can’t assume that “following the rules” and doing everything that’s being asked is going to always garner faithful reciprocation. If your cost/ profit ratio is questionable, they’re very likely to move on to the next sure thing.
Honestly, I read him as the kind of guy who throws himself into work to get over stuff, not takes a break from it. He did take a couple of months off at the end of the year but I reckon he has been beavering away since. We just haven’t seen the result of it yet.
Agreed, but he has all but abandoned social media, skipped red carpets and limited fan interaction. Not saying that’s a bad thing, but it clearly affected him.
Correlation does not equal causation – I suspect people attribute too much significance to it, and that he got over it much quicker than anyone here has. Understandably – he’s been living a busy life whereas we’ve been starved for news.
He has given up on social media, but he has done that for periods of time before – he’s even talked about not really liking it and preferring to engage with people in person. I imagine he’ll start using it again next time he is required to.
All these projects and no s/m? Ummm, no.
Someone here scoffed at me back in March when I suggested that Hiddleston might have two of the largest grossing films in 2017. I won’t gloat much, but it looks like I might be right. The only films I can see knocking KSI down in the rankings (aside from Thor) are Justice League, Star Wars, and maybe Coco. That will leave KSI hanging on in the top 20, both on domestic and worldwide box office rankings. Yeah, yeah, neither one of them depended on his star power to drive box office, but they still count. Besides, how many other actors were expecting big things this year only to see their movies seriously tank? Most didn’t even get one blockbuster, let alone two.
KSI was not depending on star power, but you can bet Tom would have been dragged to hell by the media as the sole responsible for the failure, had KSI tanked instead.
It was interesting that the critic wrote off KSI then it turned out to be a big box office success, 😉
The promo was primarily Hemsworth and Waititi. They were selling it on the strength of the new director’s vision and story. Which was also why people were excited to see the movie.
I was excited to see the movie, only because of the years-long Loki drought.
@thehord yes! I wouldn’t have even cared if Loki wasn’t in it. Skipped cw, strange cause I didn’t cw wanna waste my money on characters that don’t interest me.
I love Loki 😀
@ninneta me too *.*
They could find a reason for Thor to ditch the Flashdance hair, but not poor Loki’s mullet? I walked out of the theater noting that hadn’t Tom Hiddleston been though enough this year with Taylor Swift. They had to make him wear Tito’s Jheri curl wig as well?
By the way, excellent movie. As much fun as the first Guardians of the Galaxy, with far better action sequences and a much more compelling villain. (Cause, Cate, of course.)
I don’t think I will ever be able to see Hiddleston from now on without thinking about the Taylor Swift debacle. It made him look so very thirsty.
Makes me cringe. And I am not at all interested in seeing him in films.
Good job he didn’t do anything criminal then! 🙂
@bug well I for one want to see I’m i n lot of movies. Don’t care about hiddleswift. He can date whoever the heck he want.
So don’t, Taylor 🐍
Hi Spidey!!! 👋
Sssssshhh
I have problems posting sometimes!! They disappear! I have to find a way round it
Compared to everything else coming out of Hollywood at the moment, an over the top showmance with a woman who clearly had full agency in the whole thing actual seems rather sweetly harmless.
Also, can someone tell me why his ambition is meant to be a bad thing? He is in a job where public profile is important and he tried to increase his with what was obviously the full and willing cooperation of the woman involved. It may have backfired somewhat and you have to wonder what his advisors were thinking since her sweet ingenue image wasn’t really helpful to what he was trying to do but I’m not going to stop watching the films he is in because of it.
Well that’s too bad. That’s why his fans were upset with him doing the TS-world tour. It didn’t let people see what he was about. It just threw him into the biggest sm gossip mill on the planet. He’s gained some fans that looked beyond Tiddles into his work and pre-TS interviews, but many see him only for Tiddlesbang. Ironically, regardless his culpability, it was not a good example of what his fans like about him.
It just occurred to me. During Thor 2 Dark World, international promo tour in South Korea, Tom did a pretend date with a young, Korean TV celebrity. It was filmed for her audience/fans. It was like an interview done as a pretend date where she shows Tom around the city asking him questions. They end up at a very romantic bridge were lovers write their names on locks or something. So of course they have Tom write his and her names on the lovers bridge. It was sweet and obviously pretend, but of course Tom plays his part. It’s on YouTube.
I think the people that thought up Tiddles was basing it right on this pr-pretend “romantic date with Hiddles” in Korea ! !
Omg. I’m so surprised I didn’t remember this sooner. It is the same concept just blown up 1000x. The princely, English gentleman and the virginal popstar set off around the world in a romantic fantasy come to life.
Hmm, I’ll always love Branag’s thor. For me it was the best thor.
Ragnarok was fun but easily forgettable. And hella being Odin’s daughter kinda weirded me out.
I laughed at the scene where the girl said it was sad that how Jane left him and Loki consoling thor by patting him. 😀
Yeah, me too. Plus Branagh’s Thor had all sorts of comedy. All the antics that happen when Thor is on earth was very entertaining.
Tom did do an interview and shoot with the Italian magazine “Style” http://style.corriere.it/persone/tom-hiddleston-parlare-di-me-che-disagio/ One of the things he says is something like: “Nobody is guilty of being a celebrity, but you become an accomplice if you stir up rumors.” I think he may be reevaluating things over the last year. He also speaks of his uniform – blue shirt, jeans and grey shoes (yes Tom we know!) And the photographer for this article did a background video : https://www.instagram.com/p/BbKN71FjGpv/
That interview and those pictures were just incredible. As for Tom: I read that he owns a puppy now. May be he is just enjoying life. I wish him all the best. I watched Ragnarok twice and Loki and that stone guy stole the show. That snake story was damn funny.
Well he has apparently been seen holding a puppy (cocker spaniel named Bobby!) Whether it is his puppy or someone else’s, we don’t know. I know he likes dogs, so it would be nice if the pup was his.
I think the puppy may belong to a friend, unless he is planning to stay at home for the foreseeable future, or (shock, horror) there is someone else in residence, I don’t see how he could have a puppy.
Are you really talking about a puppy?Are you?.I don’t think so.
What do you mean Sparky?
Hemsworth was being a brat during the time of TDW and that is why Hiddleston was doing the heavy lifting. Chris thought he was a bigger star than he was and would be know for something more than Thor. He was also trying to renegotiate his contact and then there was radio silence after that. I think he had more creative input in this one ( and by that recommending the director) and now he can walk around with pride.
He certainly took center stage for promotion this time around. I get the feeling Chris was still making his unhappiness known when Raganarok development started. Marvel seems to have bent over backward to make him happy – filming was done close to his home in Oz, he had input on the director, and Thor as a character played more to Chris’ strengths this time around. They even gave his buddy Matt Damon a cameo. Do you suppose Marvel gave Chris what he wanted in exchange for greater promo, or did he do it willingly after he saw what Hiddleston’s worldwide charm campaign did on behalf of Loki’s popularity (and his own)?
I think despite Hemsworth’s spotty track record with his other films, Marvel wants to keep their main actors happy considering they likely didn’t renegotiate his contract as they did with RDJ. Marvel would have had to do the same with all the other Avengers if so. RDJ could show he brought in BO sales and helped solidify the entire franchise form the on-slot.
Chris was making some noise around the same time RDJ was facing off with Marvel. I think they appeased Chris by filming Ragnarok close to home and family in OZ and giving him input on things like director and maybe even getting his fellow countrywoman Cate into the Marvel family. And, and very importantly, letting him not have to wear a f*cking wig anymore.
Let’s all be honest here Loki is a more loved character than Thor worldwide (due to Hiddleston’s charisma) despite of Hemsworth’s comedian Thor in this new one!
Chris’s acting is wooden. Before Ragnarok I thought he was a better actor.
Can’t imagine him doing Shakespeare!
Shakespeare in the park?
In his mother’s drapes?
Hemsworth was filming Black hat during the TDW campaign. Feige had Tom do SDCC, with historic results, and the Asia & European promos. Jamie Alexander also went along for parts of the Asia tour. Chris & Natalie came out for the premieres in Europe & US and handled the major talk shows like Graham Norton, Letterman, Kimmel, the View, Today. Tom took the smaller stuff like the Comedy Central stuff, did a few promos for PBS because he was promoting Hollow Crown too and flew back to London the day after the Hollywood premier to start Coriolanus. Jamie Alexander & Anthony Hopkins both did the Tonight show and Kat Dennings did Craig Ferguson.
Except deliver his usual perfect performance of Loki. Surrounded for a change by a sea of great performances, so not standing out so much this time.
I’m gonna see this movie for the third time this week only because I want to see Tom Hiddleston again as you see Tom barely did something for this to happen!
@davinia I see what you did there 😉
I watched it when it open in my country. Love it and I think Taika Waititi directing plays a major role in that. Like the first one, meh on second one but with this, I dont mind seeing another Thor movie (obviously we’ll get one anyway). I also like the backstory between the brothers and Asgard but I did hope they spend a bit more telling about Odin tho. One thing that I didnt like is the music. Erm…no.
I liked the movie Thor was better than before,Hulk was very sweet and Loki was as always my favorite!
Now then, if I go to see this film in 3D am I going to be ducking the whole time because of things flying out of the screen at me?
Only the scene where Thor unzips his pants 😛
ahahaha
Merry Xmas.
Cranberry!!!! 😨
Mr. AuroraBorealis and I saw it opening day and we, along with the enthusiastic theatre, enjoyed it. It was a breath of fresh air and different from the other Superhero movies that have been coming out. TAMS was alright, it wasn’t a bad movie by any means but after seeing Thor : Ragnarok, it just completely blows movies like TAMS and the last Xmen out of the water. Even the actors seemed to be enjoying their roles, Cate Blanchett, notably, seemed to actually enjoy her role as Hela.
**SPOILER : And the scene with Doctor Strange was one of the best parts of the movie, seeing Tom and Benedict together brought out my inner fangirl, their brief scenes together was better than all the scenes they had together in Warhorse.
Iteen don’t even thinkteen Chris was needed for promoting this movie. Marvel has built a pretty good rep.