The summer movie season is off to a blockbuster start thanks to Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. The superhero extravaganza grossed an estimated $185 million in ticket sales in its first weekend in US and Canadian theaters, the Walt Disney Co. said Sunday. Not only did it more than double the opening of the first Doctor Strange, which opened to $85 million in 2016, it also posted the biggest opener of the year—coming in ahead of The Batman's $134 million. The opening was the sixth biggest of all time globally, the AP reports.
Internationally, the film is doing even better, at an estimated $265 million since opening Wednesday. In total, Doctor Strange 2 has already made $450 million. Spider-Man: Far From Home is at least partially to thank for the massive debut. Benedict Cumberbatch's powerful sorcerer appeared prominently in that film, which has become the third-biggest movie of all time since opening in December. Doctor Strange 2 picks up several months after the events of its predecessor and brings in Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff, who became even more popular with the recent Disney+ series WandaVision. The film also has a gigantic footprint, playing in 4,534 theaters in the US and Canada alone. Premium format screens, including IMAX and 3D, accounted for 36% of the overall box office.
Below are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, $185 million.
- The Bad Guys, $9.8 million.
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2, $6.2 million.
- Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, $3.9 million.
- Everything Everywhere All At Once, $3.3 million.
- The Northman, $2.8 million.
- The Lost City, $2.5 million.
- The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, $1.5 million.
- Memory, $1.2 million.
- Father Stu, $800,000.
(More
box office stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
