Thor: The Dark World is nearing its US release – Friday, November 8th, as the primary contender for the weekend box office. In the UK, where the movie was released last week, it raked in an impressive £8.65 million on opening night and £5.54 million over its first weekend. Those are impressive numbers and nearly double those of the movie in second place, but the film’s overall European takings are even more stunning. The film was a number 1 release in several countries, including France, Germany and Spain taking $109.4 million worldwide in its first weekend.

Chris Hemsworth, Thor: The Dark World Promo ImageTom Hiddleston, Thor: The Dark World Promo Image
The film expands on the love/hate relationship betweet Thor and Loki.

Thor: The Dark World tracks the struggles and enemies that Marvel’s Thor has to face,following the events of The Avengers (or The Avengers Assemble in the UK.) Starring Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman, the film also boasts a star-studded British cast, including Tom Hiddleston, who returns as Loki, Idris Elba, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Christopher Eccleston in his debut appearance within the franchise. While a lot of the story takes place on Asgard, several key scenes from the movie were filmed on location in London.

According to the tracking numbers (via The Hollywood Reporter) The Dark World is predicted to take in around $75 million in its domestic opening weekend, however the buzz created by the early international release is likely to boost those numbers even higher. This would mark another victory for Marvel, with Iron Man 3, released in May, having passed the $1 billion mark to become the highest grossing release of 2013.

Watch the extended trailer for Thor: The Dark World below.