‘Firestarter’ Flops While ‘Multiverse of Madness’ Leads Second Weekend In Box Office

With just under ten days since its initial theatrical release, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is celebrating its second weekend in the top spot at the domestic box office. The film has collected $61 M this weekend, adding to its strong overall grossing of $291 M. This total places the film just $80 M shy of catching up with The Batman which currently holds the title of being the highest domestic grossing movie of 2022.

Globally, the Marvel picture has accumulated a whopping $688.1 M that has outperformed the original Doctor Strange in the ten days that it has been released.

But success is not a universal phenomenon right now. Over the weekend the film adaptation of Stephen King’s Firestarter was released, a reimagining of the original 80’s flick. Its domestic opening numbers are an underwhelming $3.8 M. This film was not particularly expensive in terms of production, only costing producers $12 M. But regardless for a name like Stephen King attached to the movie the results are disappointing, especially since we all know his thrillers and remakes can be massive successes, such as It, Doctor Sleep, Pet Sematary, and Children of the Corn. 

The movie might get help from its simultaneous Peacock release, but for now, Firestarter holds the fourth domestic placement behind Bad Guys in third and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in second.

Here are the top 10 weekend films playing at the theater:

1. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Week Two): 61 million
2. The Bad Boys (Week Four) – Weekend Total: 7 million
3. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Week Six) – Weekend Total: 4.6 million
4. Firestarter (Opening Weekend): 3.8 million
5. Everything Everywhere All at Once (Weekend Eight) – Weekend Total: 3.3 million
6. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (Week Five) – Weekend Total: 2.4 million
7. The Lost City (Week Eight) – Weekend Total: 1.7 million
8. The Northman (Week Four) – Weekend Total: 1.7 million
9. Family Camp (Opening Weekend) – Weekend Total: 1.4 million
10. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (Week Four) – Weekend Total: 1.1 million