Theater counts: Doctor Strange will debut in post-pandemic record 4,534 theaters

May 5, 2022

The wait is finally over for fans of Dr. Stephen Strange as the sequel to Doctor Strange is finally at the doorstep of North American theaters. Doctor-Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will open in an outstanding 4,534 locations (including IMAX) this weekend, which places it seventh on the all-time widest openings list, nestled between two animated sequels, 2017’s Despicable Me 3 (4,529 theaters) and 2019’s The Secret Life of Pets 2 (4,561 theaters). It’s over 100 more locations than The Batman, which arrived in 4,417 locations just over two months ago, giving Multiverse of Madness the widest opening of the post-pandemic era.

Directed by Sam Raimi, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness returns Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular character, along with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong and Rachel McAdams, while introducing Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez, a young girl who has the ability to travel between dimensions. Elizabeth Olsen stars as the Scarlett Witch. Its predecessor opened to just over $85 million from 3,882 locations back in November, 2016, while going on to collect $232.6 million domestically and nearly $443.7 million internationally for a worldwide total of $676.3 million. The latest film opened overseas on Wednesday to an estimated $27.2 million from 20 material markets.

While Doctor Strange is the only wide release to open this week, there are still plenty of opportunities to see films like The Bad Guys, playing in 3,838 locations this week, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore in 3,051 cinemas, The Northman and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in 2,400 and 3,358 theaters respectively.

Limited releases are in abundance this week as we see an extensive lineup of many different genres hitting movie houses. Two of these features include the latest from IFC Films in the French film, Happening, and Lux Æterna from Yellow Veil Pictures. Directed by Audrey Diwan, Happening, set in 1960s France, opens in two locations, while the Gaspar Noe written and directed Lux Æterna will arrive in one location.

Looking ahead to next week we see the debut of Firestarter, starring Zac Efron and Ryan Kiera Armstrong. The Blumhouse produced horror-remake is projected to arrive in about 3,300 theaters and will be available to stream simultaneously on Peacock.

Note: The theater count for Everything Everywhere All at Once is an estimate from Box Office Pro.

Theater Counts for May 6

Estimates for May 13

Bruce Nash

Filed under: Theater Counts, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Strange, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zac Efron, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Gaspar Noe, Benedict Wong, Elizabeth Olsen, Audrey Diwan, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Xochitl Gomez