Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez, Benedict Wong as Wong, and Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange.
Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez, Benedict Wong as Wong, and Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange. Image Credit: Marvel Studios 2022

Disney/Marvel’s ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ easily will extend its reign over the global box office in its second weekend without any truly fire-breathing competition from rival majors, according to Deadline.

The blockbuster is expected to draw $74 million to $80 million over the weekend, which may be a 57-60 per cent decline, but is not likely to affect its position on top of the pecking order.

On Thursday, the North American collections of the Sam Raimi-directed sequel stood at $230.4 million. In overseas territories, the Benedict Cumberbatch-starrer has garnered $321.2 million to crank up a global total of $551.6 million.

Hitting the five-century global mark was “pre-ordained” following a weekend debut that ultimately came in at $449.4 million. That was good for the second biggest worldwide start for a Hollywood movie during the pandemic era, and the fourth ever for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, behind ‘Avengers: Endgame’, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’.

The sorcerer’s Top 10 offshore markets, as of Tuesday, were Korea ($32 million), the UK ($27.8 million), Mexico ($23.8 million), Brazil ($17.6 million), India ($14.3 million), Australia ($13.7 million), France ($12.9 million), Indonesia ($10.5 million), Japan ($10.3 million) and Germany ($10.2 million).