It’s looking good for Marvel Studios once again, as the current 24-hour presales are the best of 2022 so far. As such, they have already beat out Warner Bros.’ big March release of The Batman and are hot on the trail of Spider-Man: No Way Home. We don’t have an exact number, but it looks like the Disney subsidiary has a blockbuster hit on its hands. Fandango’s Erik Davis had the following to say on the film’s presales:
The epic first day of presales for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness proves fans are beyond excited to experience all the thrills, chills and blockbuster surprises Marvel Studios is known to deliver.
Erik Davis – Fandangp
There’s still no word how the numbers are with other exhibitors, but the multiversal-based storyline is definitely on everyone’s must-watch list. Doctor Strange has been a consistent presence throughout the MCU even if his first solo film was released all the way back in 2016. Plus, the trailer was revealed alongside No Way Home, which was quite the box office draw since its release back in December.
Forbes does point to it being a potentially cautionary tale, especially given the uncertainty of the MCU’s holding on the box office. Not every entry in the franchise has truly dominated yet most of the releases also faced some hardships during the pandemic. There are some comparisons made to Eternals performing similarly to Dune, as well as Uncharted picking up the same pace as Black Widow. Yet, the latter definitely took place in very different situations, and the films have still performed quite well, especially those introducing new characters into the franchise. For now, 2022 is still not looking like a true “return to form” for the box office and it’ll definitely be a proving ground moving forward.
