Thor: The Dark World has continued Disney and Marvel Studios' run of box office successes, hammering its way past the $500 million mark at the global box office, becoming the eighth movie this year to do so and the third for Disney after Iron Man 3 and Monsters University.The Alan Taylor-directed sequel has pulled in $151 million in North America and $352 million internationally, including $46.1 million from China, $33.6 million from Russia and $28.3 million from the U.K.; its 2011 predecessor managed $449 million, meaning The Dark World is now the fifth highest grossing instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. All signs point towards it surpassing 2008's Iron Man ($585.2 million), but with competition from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, it remains to be seen whether Iron Man 2's $623.9 million haul will be a step too far. Nevertheless it's another huge success for Marvel Studios, and comes off the back of Iron Man 3's monster take of $1.215 billion earlier this year.
Thor: The Dark World is out now in cinemas with a cast that includes Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Anthony Hopkins (Odin), Rene Russo (Frigga), Stellan Skarsgård (Erik Selvig), Idris Elba (Heimdall), Ray Stevenson, (Volstagg), Zachary Levi (Fandral), Kat Dennings (Darcy Lewis), Jaimie Alexander (Lady Sif), Tadanobu Asano (Hogun), Christopher Eccleston (Malekith the Accursed), and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Algrim the Strong / Kurse).