The doctor is here. On Friday, Marvel’s highly anticipated “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” earned more over $90 million, putting the superhero sequel on track to become the year’s biggest domestic opening.
The MCU entry is expected to outperform early box office forecasts, which predicted a $160 million to $180 million opening weekend for the second “Strange.” According to current forecasts, the film might gross more than $200 million once all of the figures are tallied following Sunday.
With nearly $100 million in the bank from 4,534 sites, Disney’s “Multiverse of Madness” is expected to outperform Warner Bros.’ comic book competition “The Batman” to become the year’s greatest domestic box office opening.
When all the numbers are added up, it appears that “Multiverse of Madness” will have a domestic opening that is more than double that of the original “Doctor Strange,” which grossed $85 million in 2016. The predecessor’s domestic total was $232.6 million, which the sequel is expected to surpass in less than a week. That massive increase illustrates the popularity of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sorcerer Supreme, who appeared in two “Avengers” films and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” in the years between.
“Doctor Strange 2” cost a lot of money, like any Marvel Studios film does, with a production budget of $200 million. And, like with practically every Marvel Studios feature, it shouldn’t take long for the film to recoup its budget through ticket sales. “Strange” has already grossed $27 million overseas on its first day. The film has already sold $65 million in pre-sales in the United States.
“Doctor Strange in the Universe of Madness,” directed by Sam Raimi, follows Doctor Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch) as he casts a deadly spell that transports him to the multiverse, where he must compete against alternate versions of himself. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, and Xochitl Gomez feature as Karl Mordo, Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch, Wong, and America Chavez, respectively.
“It’s an insane trip, a CGI horror jam, a Marvel brainteaser, and, at times, a bit of an experience,” wrote Variety’s chief film reviewer Owen Gleiberman of the film. The picture has a critical aggregate approval score of 75 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, which is lower than normal for Marvel films, but it is unlikely to deter fans from flocking to theatres. The picture had a “B+” CinemaScore from the general public, which is on the lower end of an usual MCU entry, so it’ll be interesting to see how word-of-mouth affects the film’s legs in the future.
The remainder of the box office had to fend for itself now that Marvel Studios was back in town. “The Bad Guys,” from Universal, is expected to come in second with a third-weekend revenue of $10.3 million. Through Sunday, the DreamWorks Animation film should have a domestic total of $58 million.
In its fifth weekend of distribution, Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” is aiming for a third place finish. The SEGA sequel has performed exceptionally well, and it is expected to surpass $170 million domestically this weekend.
A tight fight between Warner Bros.’ “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” and A24’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once” will determine fourth and fifth place.
“The Secrets of Dumbledore” is expected to decline 52% in its fourth weekend, bringing the domestic total to $86 million through Sunday. The most recent instalment in the “Harry Potter” prequel series has underperformed, and a domestic gross of more above $100 million appears doubtful.
With the release of a new multiverse, the science fiction mash-up “Everything Everywhere All at Once” took a knock at the movie office. The indie release had been holding steady — even showing a 2% week-to-week increase last weekend — but now it’s facing its largest decline yet, with a projected 32 percent loss. This weekend, the Michelle Yeoh action film could surpass a $40 million domestic total.
For the latest Entertainment News Follow BOL News on Google News. Read more on Latest Entertainment News on oldsite.bolnews.com
