Doctor Strange and his extremely effective book of spells drew a spectacular $185 million in North American cinemas over the weekend, overtaking “The Batman” ($134 million) as the biggest box office debut of 2022 so far, cementing Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe’s box office dominance following a shakier, pandemic-plagued year for the enormous series.
After the 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), the time-bending “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” represents a return to form for Disney’s MCU. Ticket sales for those episodes fell short of their series predecessors due to the epidemic and other mitigating factors.
In many respects, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is more of a sequel to the most recent “Spider-Man” film than it is to 2016’s “Doctor Strange” (Doctor Strange has been through a lot since the credits rolled on that one, including being turned to dust for five years).
It’s no surprise that “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is a movie office success. Opening weekends for Marvel Cinematic Universe films have become a significant event due to the desire to avoid spoilers and join in on the ground floor of conversation. Furthermore, the film continues from the events of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which made an incredible $1.892 billion at the global box office last year. The reintroduction of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man in that picture prompted fans to reexamine Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” film trilogy, and with Raimi in charge of “Multiverse of Madness,” there was a lot of excitement for his return to superhero filmmaking.
This is the 11th largest opening weekend in box office history. Given the rarity of hitting those heights, “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness” easily had the largest opening weekend of 2022 and the second-highest debut in COVID-19 history. Prior to this weekend, “The Batman” had the largest opening weekend of the year, with $134 million. With $260 million, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is the pandemic’s largest opening weekend (and the second-highest ever).
