Doctor Strange reigns again at the box office

The Crawley family still has a royal touch at the box office. "Downton Abbey: A New Era," the sequel to the big-screen continuation of the beloved British television show, grossed $16 million in its domestic debut from 3,815 North American theaters. Though a little down from early projects, those returns make an encouraging start at a time when older audiences are selective about going to the movies.

There was understandable concern about the second "Downton Abbey" in terms of commercial prospects, and not because longtime fans of the series were tired of devouring the onscreen castle intrigue and class-system drama. In addition to "House of Gucci" and the James Bond sequel "No Time to Die", several pandemic-era films for adults (such as the Steven Spielberg "West Side Story" remake" and the Will Smith sports drama "King Richard") struggled to sell tickets despite positive reviews. So it's no small feat that nearly 50% of ticket buyers for "Downton Abbey: A New Era" have a good story set in a familiar franchise, 55 years and above.

Those ticket sales dropped "Downton" to second place, but they weren't enough to oust Disney's "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." The latest Marvel film, which has graced the box office charts for three consecutive weekends, added another $31.6 million from 4,534 theaters between Friday and Sunday. To date, "Doctor Strange" has earned $342 million in North America and $461 million internationally, taking the film to over $800 million at the global box office. If "Doctor Strange" is able to keep pace, the superhero adventure could become only the second film after "Spider-Man: No Way Home" to cross $1 billion at the box office. Since "Strange" sequels (like "No Way Home") aren't playing due to geopolitical tensions in China or Russia, it has been hard for Tentpole to reach the coveted billion-dollar mark.

At the international box office, "Downton Abbey: A New Era" has earned $35 million, raising its worldwide tally to $51.7 million.

"Downton Abbey" producer Julian Fellowes returned to write the sequel, directed by Simon Curtis. The first "Downton Abbey" film became a surprise hit at the box office in 2019, grossing $31 million at the domestic box office and eventually grossing $96 million in North America and $192 million globally.

The warmly embraced sequel follows the wealthy Crawley family traveling to the south of France to uncover a mystery about the Dodger Countess' (played by Maggie Smith). The cast also includes Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Joan Frogt and Brendan Coyle. Variety's Peter DeBruise called the film an "affectionate group hug," which is certainly the kind of escapism that "Downton Abbey" seeks in its historical soap opera.

David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, called Fellows "The George Lucas of period English sitting-room drama."

"It's a pretty good start; the reviews are excellent, as they were for the first film," Gross said. "'Downton Abbey' is a unique and accomplished series."...Reuters