Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the first of three MCU films to be released this year, and early indications are that the follow-up to 2016’s Doctor Strange will enjoy a very successful opening weekend. Fandango is reporting that the second spotlight outing for Stephen Strange is selling five times as many tickets as his debut feature and is beating out the presale for every film of 2022 so far:
In addition, Fandango cites Captain Marvel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Thor: Ragnarok as other MCU entries that aren’t measuring up to the presale numbers being seen by Multiverse of Madness. For context, each one of those films grossed more than $300 million at the domestic box office, with Captain Marvel getting as high as $426 million by the end of its run in 2019. If Multiverse of Madness can sustain the momentum being built off of its presale numbers, a gross north of $400 million isn’t out of the question.
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At the very least, Multiverse of Madness should easily be able to beat out its predecessor, and it may even do so this weekend. Back in 2016, the first Doctor Strange film opened to just over $85 million domestically, and ultimately ended up pulling in $232.6 million. Both of those numbers put Stephen Strange’s debut feature in the bottom half of the MCU, but with the multiversal momentum being built off of such projects as Loki and Spider-Man: No Way Home, Strange’s next go-round should rank much higher among the other films.
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Multiverse of Madness May Soon Rule the Domestic Box Office
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Comic book films have enjoyed quite a bit of success at the domestic box office over the last few years, and that trend is continuing in 2022. The Batman is far and away the number one movie of the year, raking in more than $368 million since it opened on March 4. With Fandango saying Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is having the biggest presale of any 2022 film, the Dark Knight’s reign atop the box office may not last for much longer.
What’s helping Multiverse of Madness even more is the fact that it has a pretty clear runway throughout the month of May. The next major release set to hit theaters isn’t until May 27, which is when Tom Cruise will make his return to the cockpit in Top Gun: Maverick. Movies such as Firestarter and Downton Abbey: A New Era will more than likely become box office casualties as audiences come out to see the next chapter of the MCU’s multiverse saga.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will officially premiere in theaters on May 6.
