'Fast Five' Runs Over 'Thor 3D' In Australia

Well, this is a surprising start for the first two big films of Summer 2011. Marvel/Disney’s Thor 3D distributor Paramount opened on Thursday in Down Under thinking its Norse God would steal Fast Five‘s thunder from Universal, which opened its street car racing pic the day before. Didn’t happen. Day Two of Fast Five beat Thor by 38% — $2.02 million U.S. dollars vs $1.5 million U.S. dollars — even though both films are playing in the same number of theaters (220), Fast Five is only 2D so can’t command the higher 3D ticket prices, and Thor‘s lead Chris Hemsworth is Australian. Universal is crowing that its Day 2 of Fast Five was ahead of Iron Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 and its cume there is now $4.43 million U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, also today, Fast Five‘s previews in Korea are running 34% bigger than Fast And Furious (the fourquel in the franchise). In North America, Fast Five opens April 29 and Thor on May 6.