Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Delve into the darkness.
Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos… but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.
| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 30 October 2013 |
| Genre | Action, Adventure, Fantasy |
| Director | Alan Taylor |
| Starring | Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Tom Hiddleston |
| Runtime | 112 min |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 6.2/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 67% · Metacritic 54/100 · IMDb 6.7/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 67% · TMDB users 6.5/10 |
| Budget | $170 million |
| Box office | $645 million worldwide |
Where to watch Thor: The Dark World
Thor: The Dark World is streaming on Disney+ ($15.99 a month) in the US. If that is the only reason to subscribe, one month of Disney+ is $15.99 at list price.
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What kind of watch this is
Alan Taylor directs the second Thor, a 112-minute space opera where the stakes escalate from family drama to universal extinction. The hook is simple: an ancient race returns to plunge the cosmos back into darkness, and the gods cannot stop them. It is a film that relies on scale, trading character nuance for spectacle and cosmic threat. The tone is serious, though the execution often feels like a video game cutscene. It asks you to believe that saving the universe is a personal journey. That is a tall order for a movie about a god with a hammer.
What the critics said
Rotten Tomatoes lists a 67% Tomatometer score, a figure that held steady from 2024 through 2026. The average review sits at 6.2/10, while Metacritic lands on 54 out of 100, which it files under mixed or average. It was the lowest-rated MCU film on Rotten Tomatoes until Eternals arrived in 2021. Ben Child of The Guardian called it "far from a franchise killer," thanks to the leads' charisma. Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph saw it as "entirely made by committee." Director Alan Taylor later blamed Marvel’s post-production changes for the mixed reception.
How it did with audiences
It cost $170 million and took $645 million worldwide, a sum that makes the studio’s accountants smile and the critics squint. In the United States, it pulled in $206 million. Deadline Hollywood calculated a net profit of $139.4 million. On TMDB, users rate it 6.5 out of 10. IMDb users, as of February 2026, score it 6.7/10 using a weighted average. It made the math work, even if the reviews didn’t.
What came next for the cast
Hemsworth, Portman, and Hiddleston walked into this film with the first Thor and The Avengers already under their belts. What followed was a run of Avengers sequels and spin-offs, turning their schedules into a Marvel calendar. Eccleston, meanwhile, drifted toward quieter roles like The Leftovers. The credits cannot say this movie caused that shift. They can only say what came next.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Thor: The Dark World.
Read more: Thor
Sources
- Thor: The Dark World on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q1201853 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Thor: The Dark World” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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