Marvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” made good on predictions of a huge opening weekend at the box office by grossing $185 million, according to industry estimates released Sunday.
The sequel to 2016’s hit, which again stars Benedict Cumberbatch as a neurosurgeon-turned-sorcerer, scored the second-biggest opening weekend of the pandemic era, behind 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which opened with $260 million.
Director Sam Raimi’s movie easily outpaced the number-two film, “The Bad Guys,” which led the box office the previous two weeks and grossed $9.7 million Friday through Sunday at theaters in the United States and Canada.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 2” was third with $6.2 million in its fifth week in theaters, Comscore reported.
“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” was fourth with $3.9 million in its fourth week, followed by “Everything Everywhere All at Once” with $3.3 million in its seventh week.
Rounding out the top 10 domestic releases, as estimated by Comscore, were “The Northman” ($2.7 million), “The Lost City” ($2.5 million), “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” ($1.5 million), “Memory” ($1.2 million) and “Father Stu” ($800,000).