Summer has gotten off to a hot start at the box office.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, co-produced by Marvel Studios and Disney and starring Benedict Cumberbatch, debuted with $185 million, making it one of the largest debuts of all time domestically and the second-highest of the pandemic era, with a worldwide start of $450 million.
Without adjusting for inflation, director Sam Raimi‘s blockbuster had the 11th biggest domestic debut in history and the seventh biggest opening for any MCU title, trailing only Avengers: Age of Ultron ($191.3 million), Black Panther ($202 million), The Avengers ($207.3 million), Avengers: Infinity War ($257.3 million), Spider-Man: No Way Home ($260.1 million), and Avengers: Endgame ($357.1 million). The last three are at the top of the list of most successful debuts.
As of right now, Doctor Strange 2 is the second-highest-grossing domestic title of 2022, behind only The Batman, which has whirled up $369,1 million to far.
Doctor Strange 2 racked up $90 million domestically on Friday, including $36 million from Thursday previews.
