Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessended Sunday atop the domestic box office for a second straight weekend. The brand-new Marvel Studios film had a tremendous amount to rave about throughout its debut, but its second-weekend numbers failed to maintain the momentum, as ticket sales dropped 67% for theDoctor Strangesequel.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessopened with a resounding bang during its premiere weekend, generating $187 million, which placed the Marvel Studios project ahead of Warner Bros.‘The Batmanfor the best debut-weekend performance of the year. Internationally,Multiverse of Madnessearned $265 million, bringing its global total to an impressive $450 million. With few new releases hitting theaters this weekend, there was no doubt the project would maintain its top box office position, but the diminished ticket sales speak volumes.
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Per Deadline,theDoctor Strangesequelended Friday with a $16.7 million domestic total. The film’s Saturday performance was significantly better, ending the night with a substantial $26.5 million total, but numbers dipped by the close of Sunday, bringing the film’s overall second weekend total to $61 million. Of course, second-weekend ticket sale drops are not foreign, especially for a film that busted down the box office doors so aggressively with its impressive premiere, but the 67% decline is surprising because of where it sits among recent Marvel Studios films.
Marvel Studios’Eternalsexperienced a 61% drop in tickets sales at the end of its second weekend, whileShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsencountered a 52% decline. On the surface it would appear troubling, especially with the amount of hype theDoctor Strangesequel received compared to these two recent Marvel Studios films, but one has to take into account what these projects generated by the end of their opening weekends.Eternalsearned $69.5 million at the end of its three-day premiere, whileShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringstook home $71.4 million. The opening numbers from both Marvel Studios projects are solid, but nowhere near the $187 million total generated byMultiverse of Madness.
Spider-Man: No Way Homeis no exception to the second-weekend ticket sales drop, but the numbers have to be brought into perspective. The film took home $260 million and experienced a 67.5% decrease in ticket sales by the end of its second weekend. It’s unfair to expect these films to replicate their debut weekend success, but questions surrounding their decline should be asked. The pandemic played a part in some decreasing numbers for the MCU, butDoctor Strange 2seems to be coated in a different issue. The film was met with mixed reviews, earning a 74% on Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ grade from CinemaScore, which didn’t fully motivate audiences to witness the new adventure in theaters.
The lack of motivation is somewhat concerning because there wasn’t much to rivalDoctor Strange 2at the domestic box office this weekend. The weekend’s newest release,Firestarter, flamed out with a dismal $3.8 million debut, which could be tied to its simultaneous releases on the Peacock streaming service. With not much competition, one would have expected the Marvel Studios film to attract a larger audience, but things ultimately went down a declining path. It’ll be interesting to see how theDoctor Strangesequel fairs in the coming weeks, especially withTom Cruise’sTop Gun: Maverickand the Memorial Day weekend approaching.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessis currently playing in theaters.
