According to Deadline, movie ticket service Fandango reports that Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness has broken $42 million in presales, establishing a record in 2022 ticket sales so far. The titular wizard, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, appeared in a costarring role in last year’s similarly multiverse-themed post-lockdown blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home, and with ticket sales this strong, there’s every chance that Multiverse will match that film’s $260 million opening weekend box office.
With the lockdown phase of the COVID-19 epidemic appearing to be at an end, there seems to be no lack of excitement for films based on comic books. The 2021 Spider-Man sequel eventually grossed over a billion dollars worldwide, and Matt Reeves’ recent The Batman has grossed north of a quarter billion dollars in its opening weekend in March, and another $500 million since.
With the Doctor Strange sequel breaking the Caped Crusader’s presale record a week before it hits theaters, and Thor: Love & Thunder bowing in July, all signs point to Cumberbatch presiding over a historic year at the box office for Marvel Studios.
All of this can only be a huge relief to theater owners, who gave The Batman director Matt Reeves an ovation at their annual gathering CinemaCon in Las Vegas this week after he gave a pledge of fealty to the big screen filmgoing experience.
Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness premieres on May 2, 2022, and will feature Spider-Man (2001) director Sam Raimi’s debut as a Marvel Cinematic Universe director. Tobey Maguire costarred in Spider-Man: No Way Home as Raimi’s version of the character.