To the surprise of pretty much nobody, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has turned out to be another massive hit for Marvel Studios and Disney. Earnings shared by Deadline and other entertainment publications can confirm that the new film by horror master and original Spider-Man trilogy director Sam Raimi is estimated to earn a total of $194 to $197 million at the U.S. box office by the end of the weekend, with Disney already having called the sequel’s stateside earnings at $185 million. Global earnings are similarly spellbinding, with estimates pegged at $450 million, a figure that makes Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness the second biggest global start for a Hollywood movie during the pandemic era and the fourth ever for a Marvel Studios film.
While domestic will likely come in higher by tomorrow AM, global for Doctor Strange 2 at $450M reps the second-highest WW opening for any MPA movie during Covid-19, as well as the best year to date; all of this after Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s $600.5M global launch.
Meanwhile, in case you were wondering, why, yes — the big chains and other exhibitors did upcharge on Doctor Strange 2 next to other films. Hey, after being movie theaters were closed for roughly a year between 2020-2021, they gotta eat. By and large, AMC is commanding the highest average ticket price for the Sam Raimi movie at $14.84, with Regal second at $13.77. Data is courtesy of EntTelligence.