Epic ‘Thor’ thunders to box office No. 1

LOS ANGELES—The epic hero tale “Thor” roared to the top of the box office, tearing down last week’s number one “Fast Five” at the start of Hollywood’s summer’s blockbuster season, data showed Monday.

Starring Chris Hemsworth as powerful warrior Thor banished to Earth from the mystical world of Asgard, where he meets human love interest Natalie Portman, the big budget film reaped $65.7 million in North American theaters.

The fantastical adventure beat out last week’s top movie “Fast Five,” which broke records on its debut and still managed $32.4 million in its second week, according to tracker company Exhibitor Relations.

The fifth volume in the high-speed car chase series, in which Paul Walker and Vin Diesel reunite with fellow “Fast” veterans, had marked the biggest premiere for any film so far this year with ticket sales of $86.2 million.

In a distant third this weekend, also on its debut, was “Jumping the Broom,” which took in $15.2 million, telling the story of two African-American families meeting for a wedding.

The Kate Hudson and John Krasinski romantic comedy “Something Borrowed” came in fourth in its opening week with $13.9 million in box office receipts.

In fifth, the still popular tropical bird comedy “Rio” took $8.5 million this weekend for a total of $114.8 million over its four-week run.

Depression-era romance “Water for Elephants,” starring British heartthrob Robert Pattinson and Oscar-winner Reese Witherspoon, took in $6.1 million as it dropped two spots to land in sixth, ahead of the critically-panned “Madea’s Big Happy Family,” which took in $4.2 million for its third week, at seventh.

In eighth place was “Soul Surfer,” which earned $2.3 million for the true story of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton returning to the ocean after a shark attack.

Coming-of-age flick “Prom” followed with $2.2 million and rounding out the top 10 was “Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil,” a 3-D cartoon with ticket sales at just over $2 million.