“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is the new entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And one of the most anticipated films of the summer.
So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about the new film.
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a 2022 American superhero film
- It is based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Doctor Strange
- Produced by Marvel Studios
- The film is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
- It is the sequel to Doctor Strange (2016)
- It is the 28th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
- The film was directed by Sam Raimi
- It is written by Michael Waldron
- In the film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange
- Alongside Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Rachel McAdams
- In the film, Strange protects America Chavez (Gomez), a teenager capable of travelling the multiverse, from Wanda Maximoff (Olsen)
- Doctor Strange director and co-writer Scott Derrickson had plans for a sequel by October 2016
- He signed to return as director in December 2018, when Cumberbatch was confirmed to return
- The film’s title was announced in July 2019 along with Olsen’s involvement
- While Jade Halley Bartlett was hired to write the film that October
- Derrickson stepped down as director in January 2020, citing creative differences
- With Waldron and Raimi joining the next month and starting over
- Filming began in November 2020 in London
- It was put on hold in January 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Production resumed by March 2021
- It concluded in mid-April in Somerset
- Shooting also occurred in Surrey and Los Angeles
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness premiered at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on May 2, 2022
- It was released in the United States on May 6, as part of Phase Four of the MCU
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics
- Critics praised Raimi’s direction, action sequences, visual effects, musical score, and performances of the cast (particularly Cumberbatch, Olsen, and Gomez)
- Although the pacing received some criticism
- As of May 6, 2022, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has grossed $36 million in the United States and Canada
- And $85.7 million in other territories
- For a worldwide total of $121.7 million
- The film earned $27.2 million from 20 markets on its opening day
- Surpassing the first-day overall results of Doctor Strange (2016) by 153% and The Batman (2022) by 210%
- But falling behind Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) by 4%
- During the pandemic, the film had the best opening day in the Philippines and Thailand, both earning $1.2 million
- Also, it had the second-best opening day in Mexico ($8 million), Australia ($4 million), France ($3 million), Italy ($2.2 million), Germany ($1.8 million), Brazil ($5.1 million), Hong Kong, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Czech Republic, Portugal, Greece, Croatia, and Slovenia and Bosnia
- In Japan, the film had the second-highest non-local opening day during the pandemic
- Becoming the third best premiere for any MCU release in the country behind Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Disney held the record for the second-highest opening day release in South Korea, behind Avengers: Endgame
- In Malaysia, the film earned $1.6 million on its opening day to become the second highest in the country’s industry history
- The film earned $6 million on its opening day in the United Kingdom
- Becoming the third-highest during the pandemic and the biggest Thursday premiere of 2022
- Aside from opening-day records, the film earned $10.3 million from its previews in Latin America
- As of May 6, 2022, the film’s largest markets are Mexico ($8 million), the United Kingdom ($6 million), Japan ($5.3 million), Brazil ($5.1 million), France ($4.5 million), Australia ($4 million), Italy ($3.3 million), Germany ($2.9 million), and Malaysia ($2.8 million)
- The film had the most ticket presales through Fandango since Spider-Man: No Way Home
- In April 2022, Boxoffice Pro projected the film could earn between $190–210 million in the United States and Canada on its opening weekend
- With a total domestic gross of $450–560 million
- By the week of its release, debut estimates were $160–180 million from 4,400 theaters
- This is the most venues of the pandemic
- With some projecting as much as $200 million
- On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 75% rating
- Based on 302 critics’ reviews
- With an average rating of 6.50/10
- The website’s consensus reads, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness labors under the weight of the sprawling MCU, but Sam Raimi’s distinctive direction casts an entertaining spell”
- Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 62 out of 100
- Based on 59 critics
- Indicating “generally favorable reviews”
- Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “B+” on an A+ to F scale
- This is the same grade as Thor (2011)
- While PostTrak reported 81% of audience members gave it a positive score
- With 71% saying they would definitely recommend it
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