Marvel Studios and Disney’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, finished its second weekend with nearly $700 million in global ticket sales.
Directed by Sam Raimi, the sequel grossed $61 million from 4,534 theaters for a 10-day domestic total of $291.9 million. The film dipped 67 percent; Disney had hoped for a decline more in the 65 percent range.
The weekend began with a Friday tally of $16.7 million.
Overseas, the superhero pic earned another $83.5 million for a foreign total of $396.2 million and global haul of $688.1 million.
Doctor Strange 2 easily stayed atop the chart as new offering Firestarter — based on the Stephen King tale — flamed out. The Universal and Blumhouse pic opened to $3.8 million from 3,412 cinemas.
Firestarter debuted day and date on Universal Pictures’ sister streaming service Peacock, making box office comparisons difficult. Poor reviews and a C- CinemaScore certainly didn’t help.
The reboot follows parents (Zac Efron, Sydney Lemon) who have been on the run for more than a decade trying to hide their daughter (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) from a shadowy federal agency who wants to use her firestarting abilities to their advantage.
Directed by Keith Thomas from a screenplay by Scott Teems, the film is produced by Jason Blum and Akiva Goldsman.
Firestarter placed No. 4 for the weekend behind Doctor Strange 2 and a pair of holdover family films, The Bad Guys and Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Universal animated pic Bad Guys placed No. 2 domestically with $6.9 million for a North American total of $99.3 million and $165.6 million globally.
Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 grossed $4.6 million for a domestic tally of $175.7 million.
A24’s indie hit Everything Everywhere All at Once rounded out the top five with $3.3 million from 1,726 cinemas for an impressive domestic total of $71.1 million.
Also at the specialty box office, Roadside Attractions opened the faith-based comedy Family Camp in 854 locations. The movie debuted to $1.4 million.
May 15, 8 a.m. Updated with revised numbers.