Deadline is reporting that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness earned a massive $36 million from Thursday screenings, which began at 3pm in North America yesterday. This is the best preview number since before the pandemic, and means the Sam Raimi-helmed sequel had the eighth-highest preview debut of all time behind Avengers: Infinity War's $39 million back in 2018.
This bodes well for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness this weekend, especially when comparing it to other recent hits. Last December, Spider-Man: No Way Home webbed up $50 million during Thursday previews, while The Batman swooped to $21 million back in March. As you might expect, projections for this multiversal blockbuster have now risen to upwards of $200 million.
Reviews have been mostly positive for the sequel, though 77% on Rotten Tomatoes is a slightly lower figure than Marvel Studios is used to. In comparison, 2016's Doctor Strange has 89%, but it appears the sheer spectacle of this follow-up is a big draw for moviegoers (the Audience Score sits at 89%).
"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a one of a kind blockbuster experience and a pure, unadulterated Sam Raimi movie that, while not quite the crazy ride through the Multiverse we expected, delivers a fun, horror-tinged trip," we said in our review of the blockbuster this week.
Marvel Studios is banking on the Multiverse being a hit with fans, so assuming we don't see a massive drop next weekend, it looks like we can expect to see plenty more Variants moving forward.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now playing in theaters!