Hot off the heels of his Netflix smash-hit Extraction, Chris Hemsworth is one of Hollywood’s most in-demand stars right now. The Australian had humble beginnings with a role in the soap opera Home and Away, and has since risen to stratospheric levels of fame, spearheading the Thor franchise while also making appearances in Star Trek, Ghostbusters and Men in Black: International.
Today, we’re counting down Chris Hemsworth’s highest-grossing movies (so no Netflix originals here), seeing which ones have done the best at the box office – no points for guessing which is number 1! All grosses listed here are the worldwide figures, and our data comes from The Numbers, so credit to them. Let’s get into the list!
#10 – Men in Black: International (2019)
First up is the 2019 revival of the Men in Black series, starring Chris Hemsworth and his Thor Ragnarok co-star Tessa Thompson as Agents H and M, tasked with tracking down and fighting the mysterious Hive species. Despite being torn to shreds by critics and audiences, International managed to gross $252m worldwide – no doubt aided by Hemsworth’s star power – but on a budget of $110m, this simply wasn’t enough.
#9 – Star Trek (2009)
One of Hemsworth’s early breakout roles, here he plays George Kirk, the father of Chris Pine’s James Kirk, who appears in a thrilling flashback action scene at the start of the film. Although a small role, Hemsworth made his impression in a pretty good film, which definitely propelled him onto larger roles in even bigger projects. A trilogy-spawning success, 2009’s Star Trek reboot managed to gross $387m at the worldwide box office.
#8 – Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
Perhaps best known these days for being the film that broke up Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, this was one of Chris Hemsworth’s first roles after landing the role of Thor, where he plays Eric the Hunstman, tasked with finding and killing Snow White – but it doesn’t quite go down like this. A surprisingly successful spin on the classic fairy-tale that spawned a 2016 prequel/sequel The Huntsman: Winter’s War, the 2012 original grossed $401m worldwide.
#7 – Thor (2011)
Easily the most famous role of Chris Hemsworth’s career, this was his first foray into playing the God of Thunder – his origin story wherein he loses his royal powers and is sent to Earth to humble himself, and ultimately save Asgard. While not the greatest MCU entry we’ve seen, it was crucial in setting up such an important character, spawning many sequels and earning $449m worldwide.
#6 – Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Thor’s first appearance post-Avengers, The Dark World caught up with the God of Thunder as he deals with the repercussions of Loki’s invasion of Earth, while also handing the Dark Elves, led by Malekith, who are hunting for the mysterious Aether. This one was a critical dud and is widely considered the worst MCU entry so far, mainly due to its lack of personality and dull pacing. But nonetheless, Thor reigned supreme and pulled in $644m worldwide.
#5 – Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Beginning to see a trend now?
Ragnarok revitalised the Thor franchise, bringing in the visionary wonder of Taika Waititi to show audiences what Thor was up do during the events of Captain America: Civil War – mainly battling it out in gladiatorial combat with the Hulk, and dealing with the emergence of Hela. Some called it derivative of Guardians of the Galaxy, but Ragnarok was a smash hit that defied any expectations, setting up a thrilling fourth entry with 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder, and earning an impressive $854m worldwide.
#4 – Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Age of Ultron was the much-anticipated return of the Avengers following the 2012 team-up extravaganza, introducing the sentient robot Ultron as a threat to Thor and co., alongside the superpowered rogues Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver. While this film was criticised for barely featuring Thor – with a dull subplot involving him travelling to a cave – it was still a box-office destroyer, making just under $1.4bn worldwide – the fourth highest-grossing film of 2015.
#3 – The Avengers (2012)
When the Marvel Cinematic Universe began in 2008 with Iron Man, nobody expected it to become the cultural phenomenon it has morphed into. The wild success of The Avengers was perhaps the turning point, where the MCU became one of Hollywood’s most dominant franchises, with great chemistry between its leads and an interesting pseudo-sequel to Thor, continuing his adventures on Earth and developing his love-hate relationship with his brother Loki. An unprecedented amount of money in 2012, it managed to gross $1.5bn worldwide.
#2 – Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Billed as the most ambitious crossover event in cinematic history, Avengers: Infinity War was huge: combining the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy as they battled their greatest threat yet: the Mad Titan, Thanos. While a little inaccessible for novice MCU viewers, this was a treat for long-term fans: and talking about Thor, it propelled his post-Raganrok success even further by creating some great action and iconic character moments (his return to Earth is amazing, and Chris Hemsworth calling Rocket Raccoon ‘rabbit’ will never not be funny). The first part of the 2018-19 Avengers dominance, this one grossed an astounding $2.04bn worldwide.
#1 – Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Well, this isn’t a shock, is it?
Not only the highest-grossing film of Chris Hemsworth’s career, but the highest-grossing film ever (adjusted for inflation of course), Endgame was a massive cultural touchstone, tying up 11 years of continuity in a dense, fun adventure that had plenty of fan service while also tugging on your heartstrings. We may never see a film quite as hyped as Endgame, but it was great: and love him or hate him, Thor’s transformation in this film was definitely a new turn for the character. As I’m sure you know, Endgame totally destroyed the box office, grossing a truly record-breaking $2.79bn worldwide.
There it is: Chris Hemsworth’s 10 highest-grossing movies so far. Which one of these is your favourite? Where do you think Extraction would be if it came out in cinemas and not Netflix? Be sure to leave a comment below and follow us for more top 10 articles like this. Thanks for reading!
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