Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness made “mad money” during its debut at the box office with an estimated $188 million in ticket sales.
Even though critics and fans alike have greeted Stephen Strange with less of a warm reception this time around (with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 75% fresh and a B+ Cinemascore, as opposed to 2016’s Doctor Strange which landed with an 89% fresh rating and a solid A from those polled by Cinemascore), the current state of the MCU had them lining up around the block for this reality-bending superhero film. Speaking of 2016’s Doctor Strange, the originally earned a paltry by comparison $85 million.
The number is especially impressive with the box office continuing to recover post-pandemic and that Sunday’s box office had to compete with an earlier Mother’s Day holiday, which no doubt drove sales down for Sunday. This may help the film retain some of its magic throughout the week, with people honoring Mom over the Sorcerer Supreme this weekend, waiting for Monday to see the new film.
Overseas, Strange is headed north of $230 million, which would add up to a $400 million global box office start, one of the best totals of all time. By mid-week, Multiverse of Madness should catch the total domestic box office for the original Doctor Strange film (which ended with $232 million) and will certainly crack the MCU’s top ten (with Spider-Man: Homecoming currently in tenth place with a total of $334 million) before it leaves theaters sometime in late June/early July.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness faces no suitable competition at the box office until May 27, when Top Gun: Maverick will be released after a number of delays. Will the fly boy be able to knock the flying boy out of the top spot? Stay tuned to Conskipper to find out!
