Iron Man (2008), starring Robert Downey Jr, brought in an era of standalone superhero movies for the Marvel universe. Since then it had been enjoying the title of the highest grossing solo superhero movie for the Marvel Universe, but there’s a new superhero in town who has dethroned the titled holder.
No brownie points for guessing that it is none other than Doctor Strange, featuring English actor, Benedict Cumberbatch in the titular role. While Iron Man managed to garner $585 million in its lifetime, Dr Strange, after a good opening, now has accumulated a total of $616 million worldwide. This clearly shows how the Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown since its inception.
In North America, Doctor Strange has collected an estimated $205.1 million till this weekend. Internationally, the film garnered $410.9 million. In China and Korea, the movie has earned over $109.6 million and $40.9 million respectively.
Other solo superhero movies from Marvel include Ant-Man (2015) which gathered $518 million, Thor (2011) which accumulated $449 million, Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) with $371 million and some more.
Directed by Scott Derrickson, and written by the director himself, Jon Spaihts, and C. Robert Cargill, Doctor Strange tells the story of one Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) whose life takes an unusual turn as he loses the ability to use his hands after a car crash. As the traditional form of medicines fail, he resorts to a mysterious enclave in order to heal the wounds. However, he soon discovers that there’s a much bigger thing to the enclave than it meets the eye; it is one of the frontlines where mystical warriors fight the dark forces who want to obliterate reality. Not long after, he has to choose between going back to his old life or protect everyone by donning the mantle of the most powerful mage.
The movie was released on 4 November.
