Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness arrived in theaters earlier this month to kick off the summer box office season. Over the past few weeks, the Marvel Studios sequel has remained at the top of the box office, but its streak ended this weekend with the debut of Top Gun: Maverick in multiplexes.
That movie has massively exceeded expectations, though we're not exactly surprised when it's such a feel-good action blockbuster. It certainly wasn't a bad weekend for the Doctor Strange sequel, though, as it earned a solid $16.4 million in North America.
Its expected four-day Memorial Day weekend total is likely going to be around $21.1 million, taking its domestic cume to $375.47 million. That means Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has passed The Batman's $369.31 million to become the biggest movie of 2022 in the U.S. We're not even at the year's halfway point, of course, so it may not hold this record for long.
Stephen Strange's latest adventure also grossed $22.9 million internationally this weekend, taking its global total to $868.7 million. Will it eventually hit $1 billion? Probably not at this stage, though we do anticipate it eventually crossing the $900 million mark - no easy feat post-pandemic.
"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 sequel.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now playing in theaters!