Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (or Doctor Strange 2) has now tied with an early MCU movie for the second-worst CinemaScore in the franchise. With this debut, Doctor Strange 2 earned a cinema score of B+. This makes the sequel tie with Thor, starring Chris Hemsworth, which also earned the same score. However, both films still beat out Eternals, which earned a CinemaScore of B. According to some of the reviews, some viewers have described the film as “cheesy” and underdeveloped. Despite these critiques, many have praised Sam Raimi’s directorial style and said that there is no other film like this one in the MCU.
This Doctor Strange 2’s CinemaScore is considered below average compared to other MCU standards. Despite this, Multiverse Madness holds a Rotten Tomatoes score of 88% and a critics score of 76%. These are subject to change as more people see the film. However, Doctor Strange 2 has earned significantly lower numbers than Spiderman: No Way Home.
Doctor Strange 2 Box Office: On Track to Records
Doctor Strange 2 has opened in 4,545 theaters across the United States since May 6th. This also marks the movie as the widest spread film since the pandemic began. After earning $36 million in the Thursday night premieres, the movie has also earned $90 million on its first day in theaters. Current projections put Multiverse of Madness on track to becoming the biggest domestic box office opening of 2022. It was also predicted that the film would earn between $160 to $180 million during its first weekend. However, the projections have changed as the movie is expected to earn over $200 million. This would make it the highest-grossing film of the year so far. If this keeps up, the film could easily make it into the top 5 opening weekends.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness picks up after the events of Spiderman: No Way Home. It also ties directly into the Disney+ series WandaVision and Loki. As Doctor Strange also deals with the multiverse, writer Michael Waldron explained that the multiverse would not be used as a major plot device in the future.
