Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has finally unleashed the horror genre onto the MCU. The film is currently making a killing at the box office grossing $450 million worldwide in its opening weekend. A part of that maddening success has to do with the sequel’s major IMAX profit thus far. Multiverse of Madness has made a whopping $33 million at the IMAX global box office. That is a new IMAX record for the month of May.

The film, which was shot with IMAX cameras, also became the 5th Highest Global IMAX opening ever for a Marvel title and made the all-time Top 10 IMAX Global Opening Weekend list. If that was not enough, Doctor Strange 2 had the fifth-highest IMAX Domestic Thursday night preview ever. In North America alone, the film made $18 million on 410 IMAX screens which averages to $44K per screen. That means that Doctor Strange’s multiversal adventure had the biggest IMAX domestic opening ever in May and the sixth-highest IMAX Marvel domestic opening ever.

In 68 international markets the film was shown on 350 IMAX screens and made $15 million. It had the biggest IMAX opening weekend ever in India, Malaysia, Singapore, Argentina, Turkey, Vietnam, Lebanon, and Nigeria. In addition to that, the film had the second, third, and fourth-best IMAX opening weekends in many of its other global markets. When you add it all up, 48 of 68 markets experienced Top 10 IMAX openings this weekend. This includes 31 of those markets that had Top 5 IMAX openings of all time.

America Chavez, Sorcerer Supreme Wong, and Doctor Strange staring off to the side

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When talking about the exciting news, CEO of IMAX Rich Gelfond, stated, “Summer blockbuster season is off to a roaring start with Doctor Strange— an excellent sign for the phenomenal slate ahead representing some of the most bankable franchises, filmmakers, and stars in the world. He finished off saying, “From our Filmed for IMAX camera program to IMAX Enhanced on Disney+, IMAX and Disney have built a strong partnership that will only grow this year with amazing releases like Lightyear, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Avatar: The Way of Water to come.”

Gelfond is definitely right. This is a very strong start to the summer movie season as movie theaters are finally starting to feel like they are getting back to normal. It is a sign of amazing things to come, not just for future Disney releases, but for every major blockbuster coming out in the near future. People are making it clear that they are going back to the movies. In the crazy world we all live in, this kind of great box office news is the only thing that feels comforting and normal anymore. It is also just wonderful knowing that, even though Marvel took a massive genre risk with the Multiverse of Madness, the MCU is still going strong over a decade later.

Multiverse of Madness was a refreshing turn for the MCU as it was their first film to dive into the horror genre. While it is going to turn off some fans, the uniqueness of this creepy sequel is reflected in its stellar box office. This film went full Sam Raimi with creatively insane camera movements, scary imagery, and tragic themes. It was more than just an excuse for a cameo-fest, the film was an emotionally rich catalyst that showcased the horrors of having powers and how easy it is for a hero to become the villain.

Doctor Strange 2 is also significant as it is the first film in this massive franchise to use IMAX 3D in a very long time. Next week, IMAX looks to continue their success with the film opening at Toho’s Shin Ultraman in Japan and Jujutsu Kaisen 0 in Saudi Arabia. While we all wait for this sequel to make even more money, you can watch Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in IMAX theaters now.