Marvel Studios is now back in the theatrical release game with Sam Raimi and Benedict Cumberbatch's work on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the MCU's first big-screen release of 2022. Following the box-office-breaking efforts of Spider-Man: No Way Home in December, Doctor Strange 2 looked to continue that same trend after countless delays to its release.
Early predictions hinted toward the Multiversal sequel shooting for the stars and joining the ranks of Marvel's top-grossing solo movies from the past 14 years. Although it didn't quite reach the higher end of those expectations, it still came out with the highest-grossing opening weekend of the year to date with about $185 million in domestic revenue, which ranks among the ten best opening weekends in MCU history.
Even without taking a highly-coveted top-five spot in that category, Doctor Strange 2's opening weekend continues the MCU's trend of box office dominance with another sequel that outdid its predecessor financially. Now, a new report is sharing part of the reason why those numbers shot up during the film's first few days of worldwide showings.
Marvel Confirms Ticket Surge for Doctor Strange 2
Deadline confirmed that major movie chains used ticket price upcharges on showings of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness during its opening weekend.
On average, theaters in the United States charged $12.99 for viewings of the Doctor Strange sequel, a 6.2% price bump from other film showings which typically charged at $12.23.
AMC had the highest ticket prices for the latest Marvel movie at $14.84, a mighty 8.3% price hike from other films that cost $13.70 on average. Regal Cinemas was in the middle of the pack at $13.77, seeing a 4.8% increase from its average ticket price of $13.14 for other flicks.
Cinemark ended up being the cheapest of the bunch at an average $11.55 for the Multiversal sequel, but still saw a relatively high price surge with a 7.4% increase from its typical $10.75 tickets.
The full chart listing pricing for domestic movie tickets against Doctor Strange 2 can be seen below:
Ticket Surge Working for New Marvel Studios Release
Fans can expect major theater chains to continue upcharging ticket prices for Marvel, DC, and other blockbuster movies as they did with DC's The Batman in March. This turned into an overwhelmingly successful venture for both the studios behind the movies and the theaters showing them, leading the trend to continue for Doctor Strange 2.
Even without these pricing increases, movies such as Doctor Strange 2 have helped bring the box office back to its pre-COVID success with fans coming back to the theaters in droves. As the theater-going experience comes back into popularity all over the world, the MCU only adds to that success, with the Doctor Strange sequel outperforming every Phase 4 outing that wasn't Spider-Man: No Way Home.
With the ticket surge strategy not adding an excessive amount of money to the price tag for fans, it should be something that continues as more Marvel movies make their way to the big screen the rest of this year and in 2023. The surge may only add that little bit of extra money to Doctor Strange 2's first week, but considering all the wild action that comes in its 126-minute runtime, that box office total should show no signs of slowing down.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now playing in theaters worldwide.
