LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� Doctor Strange and his multiverse got to linger a little longer atop the weekend box office as Tom Cruise and 鈥淭op Gun鈥� wait in the wings.
Marvel's 鈥淒octor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness鈥� was the top-earning film of the weekend for the third straight week, bringing in $31.6 million in 4,534 North American theaters, according to studio estimates released Sunday.
鈥淒ownton Abbey: A New Era鈥� made a strong opening showing for Focus Features with $16 million from 3,820 theaters, but there has been no real blockbuster competition for 鈥淒octor Strange."
"This film has had a pretty wide open marketplace," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥淭his weekend really is, this is the proverbial calm before the storm.鈥�
That storm will come in the form of the long-awaited, and long-delayed, release of 鈥淭op Gun: Maverick,鈥� the sequel that arrives next week on Memorial Day weekend, 36 years after the original smash hit and cultural landmark.
It flies in amid sky-high hype.
鈥淭he marketing for this movie has really been going on for about three years." Dergarabedian said. "That鈥檚 a pretty long runway to guild up excitement.鈥�
on Wednesday with a whirlwind appearance for the film's European premiere that included a fly over of French fighter jets and an honorary Palme d鈥橭r award.
鈥淭op Gun鈥� represents two seemingly fading phenomena 鈥� the major movie star and the big-screen-only experience, for which Cruise has been a tireless ambassador. And the industry is hoping they will help bring a more familiar summer for theaters.
鈥淭his is going to be one of the most important Memorial Day weekends ever, considering what the stakes are,鈥� Dergarabedian said. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have a traditional summer movie season for two years.鈥�
Before the pandemic, the summer box office season generally brought in more than $4 billion annually. After an essentially non-existent 2020, the 2021 take, in a year of recovery, was $1.75 billion. This year's crop of films, which also includes 鈥淛urassic World Dominion鈥� and 鈥淭hor: Love and Thunder,鈥� could double that, Dergarabedian said.
But while the world waits, 鈥淒octor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness鈥� crossed the $800 million mark in global grosses, surpassing 鈥淭he Batman鈥� to become the top-grossing film of the year.
Released by the Walt Disney Co. and directed by Sam Raimi, 鈥� 鈥� benefitted from being the first Marvel movie to follow 鈥淪pider-Man: No Way Home,鈥� in which Benedict Cumberbatch鈥檚 sorcerer played a pivotal role.
It also builds upon the popular Disney+ series 鈥淲andavision鈥� and contains a number of cameos that fans didn鈥檛 want to be spoiled.
Holdover family films 鈥淭he Bad Guys鈥� and 鈥淪onic the Hedgehog 2鈥� took the third and fourth spots. Universal鈥檚 鈥淭he Bad Guys鈥� added $6.1 million in its fifth week. 鈥淪onic 2鈥� earned $3.9 million in its seventh.
Director Alex Garland鈥檚 folk horror thriller 鈥淢en鈥� brought in $3.3 million for production company and distributor A24.
Meanwhile, 鈥淓verything Everywhere All At Once鈥� is still going strong even after nine weeks in release. The A24 film picked up an additional $3.3 million, down only 6% from the previous weekend, bringing its total grosses to $47 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淒octor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,鈥� $31.6 million.
2. 鈥淒ownton Abbey: A New Era,鈥� $16 million.
3. 鈥淭he Bad Guys,鈥� $6.1 million.
4. "Sonic the Hedgehog 2,鈥� $3.9 million.
5. 鈥淢en,鈥� $3.3 million.
6. 鈥淓verything Everywhere All At Once,鈥� $3.1 million.
7. "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,鈥� $1.9 million.
8. 鈥淔irestarter,鈥� $1.9 million.
9. 鈥淭he Lost City,鈥� $1.5 million.
10. 鈥淭he Northman,鈥� $1 million.
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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton
鈥斺赌�
This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of "Downton Abbey" from "Downtown Abbey."
Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press
