Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has finally hit theatres all over the world, and it’s no surprise that this epic Marvel Studios film has become Sorceror Supreme at the box office.
The Sam Raimi-directed film has garnered a massive US$450 million at the box office, making it the second-biggest opening in the pandemic era behind Spider-Man: No Way Home. It has also become the fourth highest-grossing worldwide opening of the weekend for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) behind Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is also the sixth-biggest global film opening weekend in history. Currently, the movie is shown in 49 markets around the world, with the top-grossing markets including Korea with US$30 million, the United Kingdom with US$24.7 million, Mexico with US$21.5 million, Brazil with US$16.3 million, India with US$12.7 million, Australia with US$12.6 million, and Germany with US$12 million.
Back home in Singapore, the movie has taken the number one spot and has earned a whopping S$4,312,759 (approximately US$3.08 million). The movie has cemented itself as the number one opening weekend in the year, and also the number one movie of 2022.
These worldwide numbers are impressive when you factor in that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness did not open in two major markets for the MCU: China and Russia. The movie was also banned in Saudi Arabia for LGBTQ+ related mentions.
To put things into perspective, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Uncharted topped the box office with US$71 million and US$44 million respectively when it was reigning supreme at the time of their releases.
Movies currently showing at the same time as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness include Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore andThe Lost City. Thus far at the point of writing, the third Fantastic Beasts movie has made US$363.7 million, while the Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum action-comedy has earned US$99.7 million worldwide.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness currently has a Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 75 percent (check out our review), which is lower than the average 84 percent for an MCU movie. However, moviegoers and fans have the movie sitting at 87 percent.
The Marvel movie is a departure from more recent Marvel films as it skews towards horror and gothic themes thanks to director Raimi’s experience in the genre. Dark and gory (by Marvel’s standards at least), the movie can be seen as a gateway drug into the horror genre for the younger viewers, whilst others may be traumatised for life.
Whatever the case may be, this is a strong start for the sequel. As the movie approaches its second weekend, we can expect the superhero multiversal movie to pull in a whole lot more dollars for the studio. In fact, exploring the multiverse seems to be the latest trend in recent times, with the Michelle Yeoh-led Everything Everywhere All At Once also touching on the genre through a metafictional, boldly experimental lens.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is currently showing in theatres.
Don’t judge a book by its cover, for behind all this makeup, is a geek just like you. To simply put it, superheroes, Star Wars, Harry Potter and all things gore and creepy makes this girly girl swoon.
Natalie
