Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness looks set to kick off the summer blockbuster season, having already taken $42 million in advance box office sales a week before the movie is due to release. Having taken six years to arrive, Benedict Cumberbatch’s second solo Doctor Strange movie is more than just a sequel to his 2016 debut. With the integrated story of the MCU now seeing more crossovers and connections between movies, Multiverse of Madness is also a follow-up of Spider-Man: No Way Home and also Disney+ series WandaVision and Loki.
Now it looks like the investment needed from fans for the MCU to continue working is very much alive and well despite what some critics would have everyone believe. Following Avengers: Endgame, which seemed like a hard act to follow, there were fears that whatever Marvel Studios attempted to do next would fail to continue to capture the attention of cinemagoers. The arrival of the Covid pandemic did not exactly help keep a momentum going after the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home, but after reasonable returns on Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home arrived and blew away all expectations to become one of the biggest movies of all time.
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Now Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness looks like another estimation-defying addition to the Marvel canon, flying in on the coattails of No Way Home’s continued success and promising even more shocks, surprises and multiverse characters than any other MCU movie. While the opening footage from the movie was released at CinemaCon during Disney’s presentation earlier this week, it was also revealed by theatrical distribution boss Tony Chambers that Doctor Strange’s advance ticket volumes have already surpassed the majority of movies released in the last two years.
Multiverse of Madness Footage Has Given a Lot of Secrets Away Already
Between the numerous trailers and TV spots, as well as a newly released clip of Strange saving America Chavez from Gargantos, a creature that at one point was believed to be the villain of the movie, Marvel Studios has been strangely forthcoming with images and footage of some big surprise reveals. Over the last few months, there has been the reveal of Patrick Stewart returning as Professor X, images of the Illuminati, Captain Carter, multiple Doctor Stranges and Wanda Maximoffs and more, which suggests that Marvel has a lot more up its sleeve for the movie’s arrival in cinemas.
With many rumors and fan theories about who else could make an appearance as either their known characters or a variant of them, it is not surprising that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has been able to capitalize on the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. With new rumors just this week reigniting a theory that a new Wolverine will be making his debut in the upcoming movie and many other theories to be proven or debunked, there are still plenty of reasons for audiences to flock to see the movie on its opening weekend.
