Refresh for latest…: Disney/Marvel’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness is approaching $700M globally after two weekends. The worldwide cume through Sunday is now an estimated $688.1M, including $291.9M domestic and $396.2M from the international box office. The latter number will shortly pass The Batman to become the biggest overseas release of 2022.
The sequel has edged the global lifetime of the first Doctor Strange ($678M) and looks headed to a final above $900M (say, $925M-$950M), and that’s without Russia or China in the mix. So, maybe not the $1B that might have been sensed off of last weekend’s better-than-projected opening.
The sophomore frame overseas was $83.5M in 49 material markets. This reps a 60% drop from opening weekend. While that’s at the same level as the dip that Spider-Man: No Way Home took in its second frame in the same suite of markets, that film was during the Christmas session. Doctor Strange 2‘s drop is deeper than hoped for. All regions on Multiverse Of Madness were pretty much uniformly down to the same extent.
Here’s what we understand is happening: There was some softness during the midweeks and while moviegoers aren’t necessarily polarized on the film, some are not loving it as must-see repeat viewing. Sam Raimi fans are in, and MCU stalwarts — as well as acolytes of Disney+ series Wanda Vision — but second viewings aren’t driving business. The casual MCU viewer is less pumped for the must-see factor. Then, we also have to wonder if in post- or mid-pandemic times, are audiences simply excited for something new.
But let’s not be too gloomy. Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch still rep the No. 1 non-local movie around the globe this weekend and boast the second-highest gross of any movie this year as well as fronting the fifth biggest Hollywood title of the Covid era.
Highlighting stats market-wise, DSITMOM is the No. 1 movie of the pandemic in Indonesia and the No. 2 release in Brazil and Mexico.
The Top 10 markets so far are: Korea ($41.4M), the UK ($36.9M), Mexico ($31.1M), Brazil ($25.1M), Australia ($19.4M), India ($17.7M), France ($17.5M), Indonesia ($15.7M), Germany ($14.4M), Japan ($12.9M) and Italy ($12.1M).
The Benedict Cumberbatch-starrer has another clear weekend of play before Top Gun: Maverick takes off.
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