Can Thor Beat Back Orient Express & Daddy's Home 2 at the Box Office?

After setting the box office on fire last weekend, Marvel’sThor: Ragnarokgoes up against two newcomers, 20th Century Fox’s adaptation ofMurder on the Orient Expressand Paramount’s comedy sequelDaddy’s Home 2. After a horrendous month of October at the box office,Thor: Ragnarokprovided a much needed jolt with an impressive $122.7 millionbox office opening weekend, although these two newcomers aren’t expected to put up anywhere near the opening weekend that thisThorsequel did.Thor: Ragnarokis expected to come out on top once again with a projected $65.2 million, more than enough to bestMurder on the Orient ExpressandDaddy’s Home 2.

If thisThor sequelhits this projection, it will represent a modest 53% drop from its massive opening weekend. Even with the glowing reviews thatThor: Ragnarokhas gotten, with its 93% Rotten Tomatoes rating the second highest in MCU history behind 2008’sIron Man(94%), it’s still expected to drop roughly 50% from its massive debut. In fact, if it does hit this projection and drops 53%, it will be a lower second-weekend drop than the first two MCU movies to hit theaters this year,Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2(55.5%) andSpider-Man: Homecoming(62.2%), both of which went on to earn more than $300 million domestic this summer.

As for the two newcomers, we’re projecting thatMurder on the Orient Expresswill take second place with a projected $28.7 million, withDaddy’s Home 2not too far behind with $25.2 million. Both movies are expected to open in roughly 3,300 theaters, and while there aren’t enough reviews on Rotten Tomatoes forDaddy’s Home 2yet,Murder on the Orient Expresscurrently has a 67% rating on RT. Still, critical approval is often not necessary for box office success, and one only has to look towards the firstDaddy’s Homefor proof of that. The original comedy starringWill Ferrell and Mark Wahlbergonly scored a paltry 31% with critics, but became one of the surprise hits of 2015.

Despite opening on Christmas Day, just a week after the record-breaking box office success ofStar Wars: The Force Awakens,Daddy’s Homestill managed to pull in $38.7 million in its opening weekend, dwarfed by the massive $149.2 million second weekend ofStar Wars: The Force Awakens, but still quite impressive nonetheless. This was also in a weekend whereConcussion,JoyandPoint Breakall opened on Christmas Day as well, but none of which failed to come even close toDaddy’s Home. The original comedy earned $150.3 million domestic and $242.7 million worldwide, which lead to the sequel being greenlit. This follow-up brings in the fathers of Brad (Will Ferrell) and Dusty (Mark Wahlberg), played byMel Gibson and John Lithgow.

Murder on the Orient Expressfeatures anall-star castthat is lead by director Kenneth Branagh, who plays Detective Hercule Poirot. After a murder is discovered aboard the Orient Express during a lavish trip through Europe, the trip quickly turns into a race against time to solve a murder aboard a train. Everyone’s a suspect when Detective Hercule Poirot arrives to interrogate all passengers and search for clues before the killer can strike again. The ensemble cast also includes Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley, Michelle Pfeiffer, Penelope Cruz, Josh Gad, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Lucy Boynton, Olivia Colman, Leslie Odom Jr., Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Derek Jacobi and Marwan Kenzari.

Rounding out the top 10 will likely beA Bad Moms Christmas($9.2 million),Jigsaw($3.9 million),Boo 2! a Madea Halloween($2.8 million),Geostorm($1.7 million),Happy Death Day($1.4 million),Thank You for Your Service($1.2 million) andBlade Runner 2049($1.1 million).Box Office Mojoreveals that, also opening in limited release this weekend is Gravitas Ventures' romantic comedyAmanda & Jack Go Glamping, Atlas Distribution’sNo Greater Love, Cohen Media Group’s re-issueShakespeare Wallah, The Orchard’s thrillerThelmaand Fox Searchlight’s crime comedyThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. It isn’t clear if there are plans for any of these limited release titles to expand nationwide in the weeks ahead.

Looking ahead to next weekend, Warner Bros. will roll out its highly-anticipatedJustice Leaguein theaters, which actually has some competition in wide release, with Lionsgate’s dramaWonderand Sony’s animated comedyThe Star. While neither movie appears to giveJustice Leaguea huge run for its money, most Marvel movies likeThor: Ragnarokopen with no other competition in theaters, so it will be interesting to see if this counter-programming strategy pays off forWonderandThe Star, or if they’ll both tank against the superhero ensembleJustice League. Take a look at our top 10 projections below, and check back on Sunday for the top 10 estimates.