Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will see the return of Benedict Cumberbatch as the neurosurgeon turned sorcerer, alongside Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff. Olsen was last seen in the Marvel Studios Disney Plus original series WandaVision, where her character officially became the iconic Scarlet Witch. Cumberbatch last appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home, where his character’s botched spell protecting Spider-Man eventually fractured the multiverse, setting the stage for the events in the upcoming film.
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Per Deadline, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness looks to generate between $160 and $180 million at the domestic box office. Internationally, the film projects to earn over $140 million, putting its estimated worldwide total at $300 million. The spirited performance would give the Marvel Studios project the second-best opening weekend debut since the start of the pandemic, behind Spider-Man: No Way Home, which generated $582 million, and ahead of The Batman, which earned $251 million.
Early reviews for the newest Marvel Studios outing have been mixed, calling the film a spectacle with fantastic horror elements crafted by director Sam Raimi. The project currently has a 79% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an absent audience score that should be updated heading into the weekend. Early reviews aren’t necessarily the endgame for a film, but the reception differs from Spider-Man: No Way Home, which earned a 93% rating heading into its opening weekend.
However, despite the uneven nature of opinions regarding the Marvel Studios film, audiences are eager to witness what the Doctor Strange sequel offers. The film’s $60 million pre-sale ticket number outperformed every project released so far in 2022, beating The Batman, which owned the crown with $42 million. The addition of America Chavez and the development of the Scarlet Witch will look to attract new demographics, alongside those excited to see how things connect in the current landscape of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The events of WandaVision look to play a part in this new film, but it’s unclear what role the events from the Tom Hiddleston-led Disney Plus original series Loki will play.
The box office was relatively quiet last weekend, with Universal and DreamWorks’ animated film The Bad Guys maintaining the top spot for a second consecutive weekend. The Doctor Strange sequel should have no issue dethroning the animated film based on early projections. Audiences in attendance will be in for a treat before the madness of the multiverse begins with the reveal of the new trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water accompanying the film exclusively in theaters.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will hit theaters on May 6, 2022.
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Source: Deadline
