Doctor Strange 2 Passes $500 Million At The Box Office Ahead Of Second Weekend

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness continues to soar at the box office, recently passing $500 million at the global box office as the superhero film heads into its second weekend.

The sequel has made $222.75 million in the US and $309.8 million from international markets for a total global result of $532.5 million so far. The movie is not expected to be able to match its first-weekend performance this coming weekend, but the film’s solid B+ CinemaScore rating suggests word-of-mouth is trending in the right direction to help second-weekend numbers stay strong.

In the Multiverse of Madness blasted off to $185 million US and $450 million for its worldwide total after its first weekend. For comparison, 2016’s original Doctor Strange made $85 million in the US for its opening weekend, ending its run with $232 million domestically and $677 million worldwide.

The sequel reportedly had a mighty budget of $200 million to produce, and that does not count what are surely very sizable marketing and promotion costs.

After just one weekend, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is already 2022’s third-biggest movie globally based on box office results, only trailing Water Gate Bridge ($626.2 million) and The Batman ($767.2 million). Water Gate Bridge is a very popular movie in China, where is has made $626 million out of its $626.2 million total.

Multiverse of Madness is directed by Spider-Man’s Sam Raimi, who hadn’t directed a film since 2013’s Oz the Great and Powerful. He spent his time away growing avocados.

In addition to Benedict Cumberbatch as Strange, Multiverse of Madness stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stühlbarg, and Rachel McAdams.

GameSpot’s Multiverse of Madness review scored the film an 8/10.

“Despite the unevenness in the presentation, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a fun, fresh take for the MCU and, with any luck, a hopeful indication of things to come in the future,” reviewer Mason Downey said. “While Phase 4 has certainly not been shy about taking risks and playing with styles and genres thus far, Multiverse of Madness represents Marvel’s most extreme diversion from the mold in some key ways (while, unfortunately, being deeply beholden to the formula in others.) It feels exciting to think that the MCU may be getting less precious with its toys and allowing more directors to start pulling at the seams.”

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