You know you’re doing something right when they talk about your box office all weekend. Marvel is a Studio that constantly defies expectations, with fans and pundits alike tracking domestic grosses Thursday night through Monday morning. Their latest offering, the Phase 3 adventureDoctor Strangefollows this while surpassing any and all early talk. Advanced tracking numbers indicated that Stephen Strange’s origin outing would bring in a pretty penny, but by not this much!
The second in Marvel’s third phase, which is building to the two-part Thanos epic Avengers: Infinity War, managed to lock onto $32.6 million on Friday, includingThursday night previewshows which earned $9.4 million according toBox Office Mojo. That’s slightly better than whatThor: The Dark Worlddid in this same frame way back in 2013, grossing $31.8 million on its opening day. It went onto make $85.7 million during its first weekend.Doctor Strange, previously though to top out with a low $70 cumulativeweekend gross, now stands to pull in way over $80 million. And that is nothing short of a magical miracle seeing as how this is another Marvel character that isn’t too familiar to general audiences.
Benedict Cumberbatchis being blamed for the higher than expected numbers, as he manages to fill a few extra seats that wouldn’t normally be occupied. His popularity exceeds that of the Marvel fan base. ButDoctor Strangeisn’t the only new movie having a great weekend, as audiences seem hungry for new entertainment.
Family movies have had a strong bowing at the box office this year, and that extends to 20th Century Fox’s DreamWorks Animation releaseTrolls, which is based on the crazy-haired toy first made popular in the 60s and then again in the 80s. It nabbed a better than anticipated $12.3 million. And director Mel Gibson has his first hit in years, though it is modest. His hard R-rated war dramaHacksaw Ridgepulled in $5.22 million on Friday night playing in 2,886 theaters across America.
Trollsis expected to top out at $44 million for the weekend, withHacksaw Ridgefinishing its three-day total at $14+ million. All three of these new releases have earned an A CinemaScore, so these films are sitting well with paying audiences. We’ll have early box office totals on Sunday. CanDoctor Strangepull ahead of projectedtracking numberstoday and Sunday to become one of the highest grossing Marvel origin movies to date? That’s certainly possible. And there is no denying that the movie contains more than a little Marvel magic.
