Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness On Track For A Magical $300 Million Global Opening

Virtually nothing is in the way of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" in theaters this weekend, paving the way for a ridiculously easy victory for Marvel's latest. It was a foregone conclusion that the film would open at number one this weekend but just how high can the Sorcerer Supreme fly in his long-awaited solo sequel? It turns out, pretty damn high, if the box office tracking is to be believed.

As reported by Deadline, the "Doctor Strange" sequel is eyeing a $300 million start at the global box office. That figure accounts for a $160 to $180 million domestic opening, as well as an expected $140 million from overseas markets. It is being released around the globe which means the floodgates will be open just about everywhere from the jump. Though China is pretty much off the table at this point, which certainly will hurt the film's overall total. Then again, China isn't what it was for American films before the pandemic. It's something Hollywood is just going to have to learn to live without for the most part.

Should these numbers hold true, director Sam Raimi's return to superhero filmmaking will rank as the second-biggest opening of the pandemic era behind "Spider-Man: No Way Home" ($582 million worldwide). In the end, that movie will only serve to help Benedict Cumberbatch's return to the MCU as he was a major player in that record-breaking film, which undoubtedly added interest to the sequel. "Multiverse of Madness" is all but assured to top "The Batman" ($251 million worldwide) to take the number two spot in the new box office record books.