To be clear, a B + from industry opinion polls is seen as (weakly) acceptable, but it suggests that word-of-mouth is not overly enthusiastic, which is always a warning sign for the studies. It might also talk about why the film was so frontloaded with Multiverse of madness earned an astonishing $ 90 million on Friday alone, but still unable to cross $ 200 million. This is probably due to a more diverse pool of opinion among cinema-goers than NWH or Black Panther. But despite the humble nature of the audience that was scientifically researched, Doctor Strange is going to earn almost as much as the first two Avengers movies did in their openings. How did it happen?
Well, in addition to the obvious effect of inflation, this mostly speaks to the strength of the Marvel Studios factory system and its ability to build an established brand of trust among moviegoers. While the first Doctor Strange the film seemed to hit a ceiling, as many first-time films from Marvel Studios do when they play a cartoon character of less mainstream popularity –Shang-Chi still opened to respectable but more modest $ 75.4 million last year – the sequel comes after the character played a central role in Avengers: Infinity War. In fact, he became the one who teased the title of the subsequent Avengers mega-spectacle (“We are in the playoffs now”), and perhaps more importantly, spent most of the film trading barbs with the far more popular characters from Iron Man, Spider- Man and The Guardians of the Galaxy.
That association seems to be contagious on Strange, whose popularity as an extension of these characters has demonstrably grown. Equally important, however, is the new Doctor Strange the film was marketed as a crossover event in the same ballpark as an Avengers movie (or one featuring three generations of Spider-Man). Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) is fresh on Disney +’s most popular Marvel series, WandaVision, and was heavily marketed as a co-lead in the film alongside Benedict Cumberbatch. Additionally, it was strongly suggested in later marketing that fan favorites like Patrick Stewart like Charles Xavier from X men film and Hayley Atwell as Captain Carter (in live-action) would make their MCU debut. Apparently, these revelations were to the annoyance of Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, but it’s hard to argue with the commercial results.
In addition, this again confirms the growing awareness that, at least immediately after the first few years of the pandemic, audiences are more eager than ever before to escape into familiar and conventional brands. That’s why the busiest theater in the United States got attention over the weekend for pretty much nothing but showing Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madness around the clock during the film’s first 36 hours of release, as well as why original films like it The Norwegian or The unbearable weight of massive talent struggling to find an audience.
For perspective, this spring’s second multiverse film, All at once, has largely received a rave embrace from audiences who have seen it and are this year’s indie success story. It has also only earned $ 43 million worldwide since March, less than what Strange did Friday in the United States
But in order for this not to seem like a toned down note, it should be acknowledged that many critics (including this one) have praised Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madness to be a true Sam Raimi movie and to pull a little outside the Marvel Studio lines when it came to elements like a tinge of horror and gothic influences. The fact that when Marvel does this with a character who has already achieved audience goodwill (mainly thanks to a few Avengers film appearances) is a good reinforcement for a studio that may be a little shoot after the disappointing critical and commercial performance of Eternal.