'Thor' repeats at No. 1 with $56 Million, 'Daddy’s Home 2' edges 'Orient Express'

It’s been a very busy November at the box office so far. While Thor: Ragnarok easily held on to the No. 1 spot this weekend, Fox’s Murder on the Orient Express and Paramount's Daddy’s Home 2 are still in a close race for second, with each performing above tracker expectations.

Thor is estimated to finish its second weekend with $56 million, a 54 percent drop-off from its $122.7 million opening that brings its ten-day total to $209 million and its global total past $600 million.

Meanwhile, in the race between the new releases, Daddy’s Home 2 is currently estimated to take second with $29.5 million from 3,575 screens against a $69 million budget, with Murder just behind with $28.4 million from 3,341 screens against a $55 million budget.

By comparison, the first Daddy’s Home made $38 million in its 2015 opening, but that opening likely got an extra boost from family audiences with its Christmas Day release. For Paramount, this is a much-needed result, as Daddy’s Home 2 will be the second-highest opening for them this year behind  the $44 million made by the underperforming tentpole Transformers: The Last Knight. The sequel was panned by critics with a 16 percent Rotten Tomatoes, but it got an A-minus on CinemaScore, better than the B-plus earned by its predecessor

As for Murder, this is a very solid result for an Agatha Christie adaptation firmly aimed at audiences north of 35, at a time when mid-budget major releases are becoming rarer and rarer. The film is also doing well in the U.K., where it made just under $12 million. Critics and audiences were mixed on the film, giving it 59 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a B on CinemaScore.

Taking fourth place is STX’s A Bad Moms Christmas with $11.5 million, giving it a ten-day total of $39.8 million. Jigsaw is in a distant fifth with $3.5 million in its third weekend.

Related stories from TheWrap:

'Murder on the Orient Express' Leaves Station With $1.6 Million at Thursday Box Office

'Thor: Ragnarok' Passes $500 Million at Global Box Office

Can 'Star Wars' and Superheroes Rescue the Box Office This Year?