New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Superhero epic ‘Doctor Strange’ scores biggest opening of the year
Disney and Marvel Studios’ “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” has scored the biggest theatrical opening of the year, grossing $185 million at the domestic box office this weekend, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.
Internationally, the superhero epic collected $265 million for a global cumulative of $450 million — the sixthhighest worldwide debut of all time.
The second “Doctor Strange” film also posted the second-biggest opening of the COVID-19 pandemic — behind only Sony Pictures’ “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($260 million domestically) and ahead of Warner Bros.’ “The Batman” ($134 million), which previously was the biggest domestic launch of
2022.
Directed by “Spider-Man” veteran Sam Raimi, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” sees Benedict Cumberbatch reprise his role as the titular wizard opposite Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff, also known as the Scarlet Witch. Rounding out the main cast are Benedict Wong as Wong, Rachel McAdams as Dr. Christine Palmer, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mordo and franchise newcomer Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez.
As of Sunday, “Multiverse of Madness” posted a 75% positive rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes and a B-plus rating from audiences polled by CinemaScore.
On the increasingly crowded Marvel timeline, “Multiverse of Madness” takes place after the events of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which also featured Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange and likely gave the latest Marvel blockbuster a significant boost at the box office.
“Multiverse of Madness” and “No
Way Home” were released by rival studios that not long ago engaged in a fierce fight over Spider-Man, the most
popular hero in the Marvel canon. Eventually, the warring distributors agreed to continue sharing the beloved character, played by Tom Holland in the live-action films and voiced by Shameik Moore in the “Spider-Verse” movies.
“No Way Home” is a Sony title and “Multiverse of Madness” is a Disney title, “but they’re inextricably linked,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, said. “At the end of the day, I really do believe that ‘SpiderMan: No Way Home’ gave a tailwind that helped ‘Doctor Strange,’ and that’s why we’re seeing these numbers.”
“Multiverse of Madness” also functions as a direct sequel to “WandaVision,” the Disney+ sensation starring Olsen as Wanda and Paul Bettany as Vision. The MCU’s flagship TV series
— which received 23 Emmy nominations last year — was a hit with audiences and critics alike.
Also playing in theaters this weekend were Universal Pictures’ “The Bad Guys,” which added $9.8 million in its third weekend for a North American cumulative of $57.6 million; Paramount Pictures’ “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” which nabbed $6.2 million in its fifth weekend for a North American cumulative of $169.9 million; Warner Bros. “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” which made $3.95 million in its fourth weekend for a North American cumulative of $86 million; and A24’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which grossed $3.3 million in its seventh weekend for a North American cumulative of $41.6 million.