‘Doctor Strange’ spins magic at re-energized box office
LOS ANGELES — A strong batch of new films drew audiences to the theatres in large numbers this weekend, including Marvel’s “Doctor Strange,” the animated “Trolls” and Mel Gibson’s WWII drama “Hacksaw Ridge,” effectively waking up the sleepy fall box office. The top three films all garnered largely positive reviews from critics and all recorded A CinemaScores from opening weekend audiences too.
As the superhero in the bunch, “Doctor Strange” easily dominated with $85 million in North America theatres according to studio estimates Sunday. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the neurosurgeon turned sorcerer, “Doctor Strange” opened internationally last weekend. It’s already grossed $325.4 million globally.
It’s the fourteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the fourteenth to open at No. 1. As one of the lesser-known properties, it far-surpassed “Ant-Man’s” $57.2 million launch, but fell a little short of “Guardians of the Galaxy’s” $94.3 million debut.
Much of the “Doctor Strange” business came from premium large format screens and 3D showings, which, according to RealD, made up 47 per cent of the domestic gross.