DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS Suffers Second Weekend Drop But Still Eyes $65 Million Weekend

UPDATE: Here are the latest numbers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness:
 

Original story follows.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will remain at #1 during its second weekend of release with an estimated $60 million - $65 million. The sequel suffered a significant drop on Friday with a disappointing $16.7 million, but is expected to bounce back over the weekend for a decline akin to movies like Spider-Man: No Way Home (67.5%) and Black Widow (67.8%).

So, what's going on with the Doctor Strange sequel? Like Spider-Man: No Way Home, it drastically exceeded expectations both during its opening weekend and on Monday and Tuesday. As a result, those who wanted to see the movie as soon as it came out probably have by this point. 

However, it's also worth noting that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hasn't received the warmest response from moviegoers. It has a higher Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes than Eternals, but the consensus appears to be that the horror elements were a turn-off for some, while others expected more from a movie with a title like this after what we saw in No Way Home.

Deadline's Anthony D'Alessandro notes that, "I was told by one distribution source that when a movie keeps missing its projection calculations during the course of a weekend...that’s because bad of word of mouth is sinking in." That makes sense, because while the Illuminati delivered some surprises, there was no Spider-Man, no Deadpool, no Tom Cruise as Iron Man...and no Mephisto! 

Still, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is delivering numbers that many studios can still only dream of and it's a definite hit for Marvel Studios. Whether it will hit the $1 billion mark globally remains to be seen, but we'll hopefully have updated international numbers for you soon.