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The timeline-bending "Doctor Strange in the
Multiverse of Madness" represents a return to form for Disney's
MCU after COVID-era releases "Black Widow" ($80 million debut,
plus $60 million on Disney Plus), "Shang-Chi and the Legend of
the Ten Rings" ($75 million debut), and "Eternals" ($71 million
debut). Due to the pandemic and other extenuating circumstances,
those installments failed to live up to their franchise
predecessors in terms of ticket sales.
Those box office returns mark the 11th biggest opening weekend
in history. Given the anomaly of reaching those box office
heights, "Doctor Strange 2" easily delivered the biggest opening
weekend of 2022, as well as the second-biggest debut in COVID-19
times. Prior to this weekend, "The Batman" stood as the year's
biggest opening weekend with $134 million. "Spider-Man: No Way
Home" still ranks as the pandemic's biggest opening weekend (and
the second-biggest ever) with $260 million.
Overseas, the film earned $265 million from 49 territories,
taking the global total to $450 million. Since "Doctor Strange
2" is not likely to play in China, Russia or Ukraine, the film
will rely on repeat viewings from audiences around the globe to
push ticket sales past the coveted $1 billion mark. Only
"Spider-Man: No Way Home" has been able to cross that threshold
since COVID took hold.
At the domestic box office, "Doctor Strange" follow-up
outgrossed its predecessor's entire opening weekend tally in a
single day. "Doctor Strange 2" raked in $90 million on Friday
alone, while the 2016 adventure "Doctor Strange" brought in $85
million between Friday and Sunday. Marvel and other major
franchise films tend to be front-loaded in terms of ticket sales
because fans want to be among the first to see the movie -- lest
spoilers appear online and ruin the fun. Still, the sequel will
quickly blow past the final box office tally of the original
"Doctor Strange," which ended its theatrical run with $232
million domestically and $677 million globally.
"Doctor Strange 2" is benefitting as the follow-up film to
Sony's box office behemoth "Spider-Man: No Way Home," which
became a must-see movie event and grossed $1.89 billion
worldwide. With Peter Parker's tantalizing adventures as a
precursor, plus Disney's marketing machine heavily teasing some
big surprise cameos, "Doctor Strange" landed in rarified air --
even for a Marvel movie.
Imax, 3D and other premium format screens also contributed to
higher grosses for "Doctor Strange 2," which cost $200 million
to produce, not including hefty marketing fees. According to
Disney, 36% of overall box office ticket sales came from premium
formats. With $33 million from Imax alone, "Doctor Strange"
ranks among the company's top 10 global opening weekends.
"This is another sensational Marvel opening, by Marvel's own
dominant standard," says David A. Gross, who runs the movie
consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. "'Doctor
Strange' is growing its audience with a stronger follow-up
release."
Sam Raimi, the mastermind behind the original "Spider-Man"
trilogy, directed "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."
The film picks up as the eponymous neurosurgeon-turned-Avenger,
played by Benedict Cumberbatch, casts a dangerous spell that
forces him to travel into the multiverse to face a mysterious
new adversary and alternate versions of himself. Along with
Cumberbatch, the cast includes Chiwetel Ejiofor as Karl Mordo,
Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff a.k.a. Scarlet Witch, Benedict
Wong as Wong and Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez, a teen who can
travel between dimensions.
"Doctor Strange 2" kicks off the summer blockbuster season with
a bang. In the coming months, "Top Gun: Maverick" (May 27),
"Jurassic World Dominion" (June 10) and "Thor: Love and Thunder"
(July 8) should keep theaters bustling with foot traffic. With
"The Multiverse of Madness" looming large in theaters (and
taking up nearly every single screen in major circuits), several
holdover titles rounded out box office charts.
After two weeks at the No. 1 spot, Universal's animated heist
comedy "The Bad Guys" dropped to second place with $9.7 million
from 3,839 venues. Those returns bring the movie's domestic
tally to $57 million.
Paramount's family-friendly "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" took third
place with $6.2 million from 3,358 North American theaters.
After five weeks on the big screen, the "Sonic" follow-up has
grossed $169.9 million at the domestic box office. It's one of
the rare pandemic-era sequels to earn more than its predecessor
in theaters. "Sonic's" first silver screen adventure took in
$148 million in North America before COVID-19 forced multiplexes
to close in March of 2020.
"Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore" dropped to the No.
4 spot with $3.8 million from 3,051 screens. The latest chapter
in the "Harry Potter" prequel series ranks as the
lowest-grossing of the larger Wizarding World film franchise.
"The Secrets of Dumbledore" has generated $86 million to date
and may struggle to cross $100 million domestically, a benchmark
that prior "Harry Potter"-adjacent movies passed in a matter of
days.
A24's "Everything Everywhere All at Once" beat the Focus
Features film "The Northman" for fifth place, as the former
brought in $3.3 million from 1,542 theaters and the latter
brought in $2.7 million from 2,413 theaters. This weekend's
turnout continues a strong box office run for "Everything
Everywhere All At Once," a genre-defying movie starring Michelle
Yeoh, despite playing in far fewer theaters than "The Northman."
Since opening in theaters seven weeks ago, "Everything
Everywhere" has grossed an impressive $41 million in North
America. "The Northman" has earned $28 million to date.
At the specialty box office, IFC Films opened Audrey Diwan's
abortion drama "Happening" to theaters in New York City and Los
Angeles, bringing in $34,000 from four venues. That translates
to $8,500 per location. "Happening," which unfolds in 1963
France, arrives on the big screen at a politically charged
moment, with the Supreme Court seemingly about to overturn Roe
v. Wade. IFC plans to bring the film to more than 100 cities
nationwide next week.
"IFC Films is committed to bringing 'Happening' to screens
across America at this pivotal moment in time," said Arianna
Bocco, president of IFC Films. "We hope audiences seek this film
out and that it sparks important conversations about our future.
We are proud to continue our long tradition of sharing
important, female-driven stories with audiences nationwide."
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