For a third straight weekend Marvel’s DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS takes the #1 spot at the Box Office in North America, with $30 million from 4,534 theatres. Over three weekends it has grossed a stellar $340.5 million.
Second in its debut is DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA with $18 million from 3,820 theatres for Focus Features/Universal Pictures. It gets 85% on the Tomatometer. Its Predecessor film opened in 2019 with $31 million.
Third is THE BAD GUYS which has been quite resilient in the Top Five, with $5.7 million from 3,705 theatres for Univerrsal Pictures. Over dive weekends, it has grossed a total $73.9 million.
Fourth spot goes to SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 with $3.9 million, a total $181 million over seven weekends for Paramount Pictures.
In fifth is MEN from Director Alex Garland, bringing-in $3.3 million in its opening weekend for A24/VVS Films. It gets 76% on the Tomatometer.
A huge opening for Marvel‘s DOCTOR STRANGE AND THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS debuting with $200 million from 4,534 theatres for Disney, easily besting its 2017 predecessor’s $85 million opening. It gets 76% on the Tomatometer.
Second spot goes to THE BAD GUYS with $11.1 million from 3,838 theatres, a three-week tally of $58.9 million for Universal Pictures.
In third is SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 with $7 million from 3,358 theatres for Paramount Pictures. This brings its total to $171 million in its fifth weekend.
Fourth is FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE with $4 million from 3,051 theatres for Warner Bros. Its total domestic run now is at $86 million.
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE rounds-out our Top Five with $3 million from 2,000 theatres for A24/Elevation Pictures, a total $40.9 million in its seventh weekend.
Review by George Kozera for Mr. Will Wong
For the second time this year, movie audiences are thrown into a multiverse storyline at the local Cineplex. Oftentimes these movies perplex me as my brain is not hardwired to think that way as, I recently discovered, I’m more of a linear- thinking kinda guy! Going in to see DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, I prepared myself mentally to pay very careful attention to all the minute details that could entail so that I not leave the movie perplexed as to what occurs. What I wasn’t prepared for was that there is a lot of homework to be done ahead of time. Do not be discouraged by reading these opening remarks as I can state emphatically that this latest Marvel adventure takes us on an entirely unique and vastly entertaining joyride.
When we quickly discover that the dazzling opening action sequence is only a dream, we see Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) dress to impress to attend a wedding. During the reception, attendees are aghast at the destruction happening on the streets below where an octopus Cyclops monster is trying to kill America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), the object of the aforementioned dream. With the assistance of Strange’s sidekick Wong (Benedict Wong), the monster is vanquished, and we learn that America’s superpower is that she can open portals to other universes. In her quest to find her parents that she accidentally threw into a portal when she was young, not only has the many incarnations of Doctor Strange she met in different dimensions unable to help her, but America is also relentlessly pursued by Wanda Maximoff aka The Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) who wants to steal her power. To say more would contain spoilers that I am loathe to provide.
DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS is successfully unique as it is the first Marvel movie that can be classified as a Horror flick versus an Action/Adventure one. Whereas Director Sam Raimi may have helmed the first three “Spider-Man” movies, he is best known for giving the world “Evil Dead” and “Army of Darkness” and his proficiency in the Horror genre is put to effective use here. Whereas the action scenes are perfunctory and nicely executed, I genuinely enjoyed his many visual homages to Spielberg’s Indiana Jones catalogue and de Palma’s classic “Carrie.” Heck, there’s even a “Star Wars” reference here! The last time Doctor Strange had a standalone feature was 2016 and I enjoy the snark and swagger Cumberbatch always brings to the character. It’s grandiose without the Tony Stark arrogance. Oh yes, the cameos in one extended sequence were nicely presented and I enjoyed watching Rachel McAdams and Chiwetel Ejiofor return to the fold. What I enjoyed less, and this bears repeating, was the amount of homework required to fully enjoy DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS. Having yet to watch “WandaVision” on Disney+ (it’s still in my playlist alongside “Loki”), The Scarlett Witch’s motivation was lost on me as I am unfamiliar with her backstory, which was only rudimentally examined here. Much of the joy of watching the Marvel Studio movies was how they would seamlessly incorporate events from previous movies. Yes, it helped if you read the comic books for further insight into the characters and their motivations, but you didn’t HAVE to. This new trend of exposition may alienate those who don’t subscribe to streaming services.
Tony Chambers, the Disney Executive VP of Theatrical Distribution, kicked off the recent CinemaCon convention by saying that DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS had already earned $42 million in advance ticket sales ahead of its bow. Whereas I never value a movie based on its Box Office, I can confidently state that those with the advance tickets and those who will stand in long lineups will thoroughly enjoy this latest Marvel marvel. I know I certainly did.
Walt Disney Studios Canada release MARVEL’S DOCTOR STRANGER IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS May 6, 2022.
In case you missed it, here is the Big Game TV Spot for Marvel Studios’ DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS!
Synopsis:
Marvel Studios’ “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” the MCU unlocks the Multiverse and pushes its boundaries further than ever before. Journey into the unknown with Doctor Strange, who, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending anddangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysteriousnew adversary.
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, with Michael Stühlbarg, and Rachel McAdams.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness releases in theatres on May 6, 2022.
(Photo/video credit: Disney)
Marvel Studios just released a brand-new glimpse of DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS! See the new Teaser below:
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opens in theatres on May 6, 2022.
(Photo/video credit: Marvel Studios Canada)
For a second straight week, DOCTOR STRANGE holds the top spot at the Box Office for Marvel/Disney with $43 million from 3,882 theatres. Over two weeks, the Blockbuster starring Benedict Cumberbatch has grossed $153 million in North America alone.
In second spot is 20th Century Fox‘s TROLLS with $34.8 million from 4,066 theatres. Over two weeks it has made $93.7 million domestically.
ARRIVAL debuts in third spot for Paramount Pictures with a solid $23.4 million. Debuting at TIFF ’16 and starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, the Denis Villeneuve Film gets a strong 93% on the Tomatometer and a B CinemaScore.
ALMOST CHRISTMAS debuts in fourth for Universal Pictures with $15.3 million from 2,376 theatres. It gets 44% on the Tomatometer from Critics and inversely an A- CinemaScore from Audiences.
The Horror SHUT IN starring Naomi Watts debuts in seventh for EuropaCorp. with $3.8 million from 2,886 theatres. It gets 0% on the Tomatometer and a C CinemaScore.
INFERNO rounds out the Top Ten with $3.2 million for Sony Pictures. In three weeks it has made $31 million in North America.
Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong
After a car accident leaves his hands with permanent nerve damage, hotshot neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) travels across the world in search of a way to get his life back. Instead, he discovers The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and the hidden world of mystic arts and alternate dimensions.
The comparisons between Doctor Strange and Inception are apt as both Films spend an immense chunk of their running time devoted to explaining what and how things are happening. This Film is an origin story, and after zooming through who Strange used to be, it starts running through the training of what he will predictably become. It starts off interesting at first, but quickly becomes monotonous and drab. Director Scott Derrickson injects humour into these scenes to lighten the Film up (likely to make the darker moments a little more child-friendly). The laughs are intended to make us a little more absorbed in all the mysticism and magic being introduced – but none of it feels organic. I chuckled a few times, but found the comedy to be forced and downright baffling.
While I can understand there would be a lot of explanation for this untold part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (filled with the requisite nods and references to the source material and the next Phase 3 Films), it takes away from all of the action scenes where everything we have heard and learned actually gets used. These scenes are wildly creative and visually spectacular, but they feel rushed and practically an afterthought in too many cases.
That said, the action scenes are not the only piece of Strange that is inventive. The whole Film packs in some genuinely incredible visuals at every turn that rank amongst the best of the year and arguably any Marvel Film. The level of detail is impeccable and borderline hallucinatory. Derrickson uses a wealth of colours to really illustrate these dimension hopping sequences, making them pop in unexpected ways. The visuals look great even during smaller moments where Strange is learning how to open portals or acting in his “astral plane”. All of these visuals help elevate the Film beyond the atypical origin story it tells. I can only begin to imagine how astounding the Film would look in IMAX 3D.
Cumberbatch slips into the role of Strange with ease and does a great job bringing the classic Marvel character to life. His American accent is near flawless and his command of the screen is unwavering. The scenes after his accident are exceptionally devastating. He gets to have a lot of fun in the role, despite how awkward some of his comedic and brash moments quickly become, and really brings out a distinctive personality that will fit in well within his future Avengers adventures.
Derrickson lines the Film with an incredibly talented Oscar-calibre roster of supporting players, but wastes nearly all of them in one-dimensional, underdeveloped roles. Swinton makes us overlook the ‘whitewashing’ controversy as The Ancient One, managing to be effectively mysterious and interesting throughout. Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Mordo spends too much of the Film sidelined to the background, brooding and waiting for the sequel to make any impact. Rachel McAdams shines in the thankless role of Strange’s former girlfriend and colleague Christine Palmer, while the uber-talented Mads Mikkelsen, as the devious Kaecilius, is so underused that he is barely afforded motivation for his master plan.
If anyone seems to emerge unscathed, it’s Benedict Wong as Wong, one of the stoic masters of the mystic arts. He is the standout character of the Film, and gets to have a lot of fun being deadly-serious.
The origin story that fuels Doctor Strange is nothing special, and the immense level of exposition and explanations are tedious to say the least. I am still confused about some of the rules the Film attempts to put in place. The supporting cast is sadly underdeveloped and the humour is almost obnoxiously forced. But all of that said, Strange still packs a great performance from the always reliable Cumberbatch and has some of the most spectacular visual and special effects of the year. These visual wonders demand to be seen on the biggest screen possible, and do an incredible job making up for the Film’s faults.
And I feel like it should be obvious now, but be sure to sit through all of the credits. It’s worth it – especially for Strange fans.
Marvel Entertainment Canada release DOCTOR STRANGE on Friday, November 4, 2016.
Back in December, we posted this piece pointing to some early images of Benedict Cumberbatch in the role of Doctor Strange for the upcoming Marvel Studios project of the same name. The film has flown under the radar to some extent, perhaps because we have some other superhero releases to get through first in 2016, but the argument can be made that Cumberbatch is the biggest star to take up a superhero role since Robert Downey, Jr. and Scarlett Johansson. And that should make this a pretty exciting release when the time comes.
In the meantime all we have is speculation and whatever the studio gives us. And this past week, that included a first look at the character in action! The debut trailer for Doctor Strange was uploaded to YouTube by Marvel Entertainment, and you can view it in its entirety here.
In the meantime, here are some thoughts and questions we had regarding this early look…
First, how about the distinct Christopher Nolan undertones? Upon a first watch of the trailer you may notice that in a very general sense the sounds and cinematography on display are reminiscent of Nolan’s style. But watching more closely, you might see distinct echoes of two films in particular: Batman Begins and Inception. We see Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch) in both humble rags and a tuxedo, and then seemingly training and reinventing himself in what looks to be a Far East temple of some sort very much in the image of Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins. We also see people manipulating environments and even folding cities in ways that bring Inception visuals to mind. This is by no means to suggest this film will be anything like those Nolan projects, but either way they’re certainly not bad comparisons.
The next thought that came to mind was the question of how familiar this character will be to comic fans, if at all. The truth is that the studio (and larger company) have already made some efforts to plant an image of Doctor Strange in the minds of modern fans. The character exists in multiple games online and on mobile devices, and there may even be a hint of him in a popular casino game at this site. The image for The Magician Trick Picks slot game looks suspiciously like some versions of Strange, and we know that both Marvel and DC like to advertise their characters by licensing their images out to these platforms. In this case, the game isn’t official, but it could easily have been taken as a hint of more to come. Despite all these appearances most of which fall in line with the Entertainment Weekly stills of Cumberbatch in the role that we discussed previously the trailer shows a humbler and more ordinary looking character. It may b e that for this first film we’re pretty much looking at a normal human before he transforms into a costumed hero.
And finally, it’s difficult to watch the trailer without wondering: is this a little bit too much? The imagery and Nolan-like quality are quite exciting, on their own, but the film looks to have a distinctly different tone than most of the other superhero films we’ve seen. Furthermore, it certainly appears as if the school of power that Strange is studying in has secrets that would far surpass the abilities of the other Avengers, and of the villains we’ve seen thusfar. An early review for Captain America: Civil War essentially praises the upcoming film for remaining grounded, whereas so many superhero films have focused on greater powers and enemies emerging from the skies. Frankly it’s all gotten a little bitridiculous and there has to be some concern that Doctor Strange will ramp things up in that department just a few months after Civil War brings the genre back down to Earth.
Purely as its own project, however, Doctor Strange is looking pretty interesting. Its trailer definitely makes you want to know more.
He’s a Buddhist? We had no clue. Entertainment Weekly has a fascinating read on Benedict Cumberbatch this week as he graces the cover in an exclusive DOCTOR STRANGE preview!
Cumberbatch who stars in the titular role of the upcoming Blockbuster reveals that he spent his teen years working with Tibetan monks, teaching them English. “I became interested the meeting point between Western logic and Eastern mysticism”, he says. The role of Doctor Strange allows him to explore supernatural forces and alternative dimensions.
Read more here.
DOCTOR STRANGE also stars Rachel McAdams, Michael Stuhlbarg, Tilda Swinton, Chiewetel Ejiofor and Mads Mikkelsen.
See the Cover:
Marvel Entertainment Canada release DOCTOR STRANGE on Friday, November 4, 2016.
(Photo credit: Marvel/Entertainment Weekly)
Following its record-breaking success as the biggest IMAX exclusive event release ever, “Queen Rock Montreal” will make its global streaming premiere May 15, 2024 on Disney+ as the first concert film available with IMAX Enhanced sound powered by DTS. It will debut alongside the availability of IMAX Enhanced sound for 18 fan-favourite Marvel films that will immerse subscribers in the action like never before. The announcement was made yesterday by Disney+, IMAX Corporation, and DTS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xperi Inc.
Subscribers on IMAX Enhanced certified devices will be able to feel the full dynamic range of every heart-pounding moment of the digitally remastered concert film, which captures the world’s most iconic rock band at the very peak of their live powers. “Queen Rock Montreal” presents Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon at their most exciting and exhilarating. The original concerts, which took place on November 24 and 25, 1981, were arranged specifically to be filmed for a full-length concert film to document their live show. The film was restored for IMAX by Mercury Studios. Executive producers include Geoff Kempin and Alice Webb for Mercury Studios and Jim Beach and Matilda Beach for Queen Films.
Select Marvel Studios films available with IMAX Enhanced sound on Disney+ at launch will include:
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Doctor Strange
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Avengers: Infinity War
Eternals
Avengers: Endgame
Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2)
Black Panther
Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 3)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
The Marvels
Black Widow
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Captain America: Civil War
Thor: Ragnarok
Captain Marvel
Thor: Love & Thunder
Best-in-class certified device manufacturers will support IMAX Enhanced sound, beginning with select DTS:X enabled Android/Google TV devices from Sony, Hisense, Sharp, Xiaomi, and others. Additionally, owners of certified DTS:X enabled AV receivers from manufacturers like Denon, Marantz, and JBL will also be able to enjoy the experience at launch.
With IMAX Enhanced, IMAX and technology partner DTS enable content that can be experienced in-home and beyond with the highest fidelity, ensuring that filmmakers’ creative intent is fully optimized for an IMAX-quality presentation. DTS:X, provided by DTS, preserves the full dynamic range of the theatrical mix, allowing sound to move freely around the listener for a more immersive presentation at home. Disney+ is the first major streaming service to elevate the at-home viewing experience with IMAX Enhanced, giving its subscribers new ways to re-experience the Marvel Cinematic Universe and beyond.
Yesterday’s announcement is the latest evolution in the storied relationship between IMAX and Disney Entertainment, with audiences first entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe in IMAX in 2010. Since then, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become the highest grossing franchise in IMAX history. Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame were the first films shot entirely with IMAX digital cameras, and all titles available in IMAX Enhanced on Disney+ feature select sequences in IMAX’s expanded aspect ratio.
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