DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS has $185 million dollar opening.

These are good numbers: “Doctor Strange and his questionably effective book of spells has summoned a blockbuster $185 million at North American movie theaters over the weekend, reaffirming the box office dominance of Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe after a shakier, pandemic-battered year for the sprawling franchise.” They’re also going to be annoying numbers for some, because there is already a vocal contingent online who are upset in various ways about DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS.

Without giving anything away, there’s a bunch of people who are upset about a major plot point of the movie (personally, I thought it was about time the issue was addressed). And there’s another bunch of people who apparently don’t know what you’re going to get when Sam Raimi directs a movie called DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS. I’ll address that one directly: what the Hell were you expecting, neighbors? People smoking cigarettes in diners at 2 AM, while talking about modern theater? No, you are not. You are going to get Raimi’s peculiar and highly entertaining ghoulish humor. And I have no sympathy if you are surprised. The Internet exists for a reason.

Moe Lane

PS: Look, I’m not gonna lie: Raimi toned it down a little, because he was working for the Mouse. But I made my peace with that. Dude needed to get a hit, if he wanted to get work again. We needed the dude to get a hit. And they’re all suddenly remembering his number now…