Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Has Biggest Opening Weekend of Year So Far with $185M

Courtesy Marvel Studios

In this universe, Doctor Strange's sequel is No. 1.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — director Sam Raimi's first movie since 2013's Oz the Great and Powerful — earned $185 million at the domestic box office during its opening weekend, according to Variety. The first Doctor Strange movie, back in 2016, made $85 million on its opening weekend.

The Marvel movie boasts the biggest opening weekend of 2022 so far, beating out the Robert Pattinson–led The Batman, which debuted to $134 million.

Benedict Cumberbatch, 45, last appeared as the sorcerer Stephen Strange in December's Spider-Man: No Way Home, which became a box office hit, opening to a whopping $253 million and eventually surpassing $1 billion worldwide.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness also stars Elizabeth Olsen, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong and Xochitl Gomez.

RELATED: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Reviews Applaud Director Sam Raimi's 'Spookiness'

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Olsen, 33, told PEOPLE last week about returning as Wanda Maximoff (aka the Scarlett Witch) after the positive reception to her Emmy-lauded Disney+ series WandaVision.

"I definitely didn't think that was going to become more than it was with the Avengers franchise. Being able to do WandaVision was an amazing opportunity. I think because of the experience that the audience and the fans have had with WandaVision, they'll have a different perspective coming into Doctor Strange, and I'm excited for the journey they're about to see Wanda go on in this film."

Additionally, McAdams, 43, spoke about working with Raimi, 62, who previously directed the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies and the Evil Dead franchise. She highlighted the filmmaker's ability to "bring this franchise into a new kind of genre" and the cast's opportunity to "dive into the darkness with Sam, even though he's an incredibly light and playful guy, somehow."

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now in theaters.