Doctor Strange 2 Box Office Projections More Than Double First Movie

Early box office projections for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness predict a $200 million opening weekend, which is more than double the original film's. Benedict Cumberbatch's sorcerer is finally getting his sequel as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's 2022 plans. Following several delays caused by COVID-19 and Sam Raimi replacing Scott Derrickson as the director, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is slated to be the first MCU movie of the year. It debuts exclusively in theaters in May following the conclusion of Moon Knight on Disney+ and continues Strange's multiverse story from Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Marvel has done its best to keep many details about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness a secret. The marketing has heavily leaned into the idea of multiple versions of Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). There will also seemingly be variants of Wong (Benedict Wong), Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams), and Professor X (Patrick Stewart). All of the multiverse connections and potential for cameos have built up immense excitement for Doctor Strange 2's theatrical release. Now after tickets went on sale and topped The Batman's 2022 presales record, projections point to a huge opening weekend for Marvel's next movie.

According to early box office projections from Box Office Pro, there is a chance that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opens to more than $200 million in its first weekend. The site's long range prediction for the MCU movie has it earning somewhere between $165-$205M at the box office in its opening weekend. The original Doctor Strange opened to $85M back in 2016, so even the lower end expects an opening that's nearly doubled the sequel's predecessor. If these projections prove to be accurate, Doctor Strange 2 will easily surpass The Batman ($134M) to have the biggest opening weekend of 2022 so far.

Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness could be the latest MCU movie to have a $200M opening weekend based on these projections. The Avengers was the first movie to ever do it in 2012, and seven films overall have accomplished that feat since. Four of them are MCU movies - Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Based on these early projections, the top end of Doctor Strange 2's box office would have it earning just more than Black Panther ($202M). Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch's multiverse adventure will need to crush expectations to top No Way Home's record pandemic opening of $260M.

It is not surprising to see early projections for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to be so high, especially in comparison to the first film. Doctor Strange was a brand new character to the MCU at the time. He's since made four additional appearances, including substantial roles in Avengers: Infinity War and Spider-Man: No Way Home. These appearances helped audiences become more familiar with him and want to see his story continue. It also helps that WandaVision was widely acclaimed and the multiverse story has driven immense speculation online. Audineces should be eager to check out Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to see what exactly it includes.

More: Marvel Just Hinted At How Doctor Strange 2's Multiverse Madness Is Fixed

Source: Box Office Pro