Also on the second weekend, “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness” hit the cinema charts worldwide – also in North America and Germany. But the decline in tickets sold is massive in some cases. Cause for concern for Disney?
In North America played “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness” over the weekend and grossed around $61 million. This is, of course, the first place in the cinema charts, but still, a massive drop of around 67% compared to the first weekend. For comparison: In the recent Disney Marvel launches “Shang-Chi” and “Eternals’ were down only 54% and 62%, respectively, with predecessor ‘Doctor Strange” even only by 49%, in the recent big superhero cinema extravaganza “The Batman“ by 50%.
In Germany, 330,000 cinema tickets sold were also easy enough for first place in the cinema charts (perennial favorite “Fantastic Animal Beings – Dumbledore’s Secrets” is well behind in second place with around 72,500). At just under 60%, the decline is much more moderate than in the USA.
But how are these numbers classified? Aren’t declines of 60 or almost even 70% massive crashes and a strong indication that the film is poorly received and the opinions of the cinema-goers* from the first weekend are now discouraging others? It can’t be said in general terms…
Of course, is “Doctor Strange 2” further a hit
The decline in cinema tickets sold from the first to the second weekend is often used as an indication of the audience’s opinion of a film. When evaluating these numbers, however, one must always consider all the circumstances. In Germany as in North America, for example, this weekend was mostly real summer weather. A lot of people automatically stay away from the cinemas. There was also a terrible racist attack in the USA. That also keeps people away from the cinemas – either out of fear of imitators or because they follow the news.
Above all, however, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness” a film that was clear from the start that it would be extremely front-heavy. The spoiler phobia sometimes reached new proportions here. A lot of people who might otherwise have only gone on the second or third weekend were afraid of getting spoiled special cameos – and therefore went straight to the cinema on the first weekend.
That was already with “Spider-Man: No Way Home” so, the like “Doctor Strange 2” in North America had what was a massive crash of 67% on the second weekend. But of course, the Spidey multiverse adventure is not a disappointment, it has far exceeded all expectations. There, too, curiosity and spoiler phobia only made for an extremely front-heavy first weekend, so the decline compared to the strong second weekend seemed so massive.
Hardly anyone at Disney and Marvel should have concerns that after the eleventh-biggest US start in history, it is now “only” the 32-best second weekend for “Doctor Strange 2” is recorded. The sequel already has the complete box office result of its predecessor in North America and, above all, worldwide. Doctor Strange“ surpassed.
That a dark film like “The Batman” now had a better second weekend in the US than the Marvel blockbuster “Doctor Strange The Multiverse Of Madness shouldn’t be seen as a weakness in Sam Raimi’s MCU adventure, but rather a testament to how enthusiastically the DC film starring Robert Pattinson was received.
At Marvel, of course, you should have known about “Doctor Strange 3” think…
