'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' Rakes In $450 Million USD Opening Weekend

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has now raked in $450 million USD on its opening weekend. According to new figures from Deadline, the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe installment featuring Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen has earned the second-biggest opening weekend for any Hollywood title during the pandemic era, bringing almost half a million dollars globally, with $260 million USD from the international box office overseas.

The film is now also the fourth-largest opening weekend for Marvel Studios, sitting just behind Avengers: Endgame and Infinity War as well as the recent Spider-Man: No Way Home. On a like-for-like basis, the figures for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is only 17% behind No Way Home, and a strong 126% above Matt Reeves‘ The Batman and 160% above its own first installment from 2016.

The impressive box office numbers come just in time to back up Olsen’s defense of MCU films. The Scarlet Witch actress recently said that the criticism of superhero films for not being artistic detracts from the talent and hard work put in behind the projects. “I’m not saying we’re making indie art films, but I just think it takes away from our crew, which bugs me,” the actress emphasized. “These are some of the most amazing set designers, costume designers, camera operators – I feel diminishing them with that kind of criticism takes away from all the people who do award-winning films, that also work on these projects.”

Elsewhere in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Moon Knight‘s producer says Marvel hid interactive QR codes in its scenes.