Dr. Strange and the Multiverse grabs $450 Million

Sam Raimi and Benedict Cumberbatch earn $450 Million in Worldwide Profits

Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness demonstrates how even in parallel universes, familiar things take on new meaning. In fact, as depicted in the film, red means go, and green means halt, as shown. It’s safe to say one thing no matter where you live: the combination of Benedict Cumberbatch and director Sam Raimi for a comic book film means big business for theaters and for Disney.

This weekend, moviegoers all over the world were spellbound by the 28th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (plus a few storyline-relevant television series like WandaVision). Sorcerer Supreme’s tale earned $185 million domestically, according to Variety. For a total of $450 million, $265 million came from overseas markets.

In spite of the fact that the film did not play in China, which overtook America as the top movie market during the coronavirus pandemic, it still earned a sizable profit.

Saudi Arabian censors demanded Disney remove 12 seconds of “LGBTQ content” from its films late last month, according to the Guardian. America Chavez, played by Xochitl Gomez, reflects on her childhood growing up with two mothers in the film. A simple edit, said Saudi Arabia’s general supervisor of film classification. The character’s motivation would be lost if you didn’t know who the two women in her flashback scene were. Guardian reports that Disney has so far rejected the requested edits.

However, according to Variety, the film’s opening is still the 11th-highest in history.

It’s a return to form for director Raimi, who has a history of indie horror and a fondness for schtick fantasy in television shows like Xena: Warrior Princess, and whose roots can be found in Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. After the underwhelming Oz the Great and Powerful in 2013, this is his first film in theaters, a triumph for the man whose early aughts Spider-Man trilogy, which predated the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is foundational for modern comic book movies.