Marvel's latest film offering, "Doctor Strange," has dominated the box office over the weekend. The Benedict Cumberbatch-starrer not only surpassed projected earnings for its first weekend debut, but has also helped Disney Studios cross the $6B mark for the first time in history.
The addition of Cumberbatch to the Marvel Cinematic Universe not only received positive reviews, but also allowed for the studio to reach a new record with an origin story. Over its first weekend release, the superhero film grossed $85M in the US while hitting $325M in international theaters. The film was originally forecasted to hit only the $55-75M mark.
According to Deadline, Doctor Strange's spellbinding performance at the box office helped Disney past the $6B global threshold - a first monumental event in the company's history. Universal studios reached the feat in September 2015 which concluded with a total of $6.89B.
The film's debut was able to rank above other MCU franchises, including "Thor" at $65.7M, "Captain America: The First Avenger" at $65.1M and "Ant Man" at $57.2M. Strange, however, was not able to top "Iron Man" at $98.6M and "Guardians of the Galaxy" at $94.3M. The film's audiences were mostly males (58%) and was watched by ages 13-34 (57%).
"Doctor Strange" follows Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange (Cumberbatch), a top surgeon who after getting his hands injured in a car crash, seeks out the help of the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton). The film also stars Rachel McAdams (The Notebooks) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave). It cost the studio a total of $165M to produce the film, which was crafted under the creative vision of director Scott Derrickson.
"Doctor Strange" was also able to hit huge numbers in more than 1000 Imax theaters, collecting $24.2 million (47%) of its total international cume. In other box office news, animated series, "Trolls" and World War II biopic, "Hacksaw Ridge," fall in at second and third spot, respectively.