Here's When You Can Expect To Stream Doctor Strange 2 At Home

One of the most anticipated Marvel Cinematic Universe releases of 2022, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, was always going to hit big at the box office. However, no one expected it to bring in a $185 million domestic haul, officially the biggest opening weekend of 2022 so far. But for those who are not comfortable going out to theaters yet, the wait to watch at home won’t be nearly as long as you might think. Though Marvel has not yet confirmed a streaming release date, cinema buffs have a good idea when Doctor Strange 2 probably arrives on Disney+.

Before the 2020 theatrical shutdown, there was a long stretch between the time a film premiered in theaters and when it came to streaming. For example, Black Panther debuted in theaters in February 2018 but did not come to Netflix until September 2018, six months later. But the shutdown drove most production studios to renegotiate their contracts in the last two years, and now the window between when a film debuts in theaters and comes to streaming can be counted in days, not months.

For example, Shang-Chi and the Legend of The Ten Rings debuted in theaters on Sept. 3, 2021, and Nov. 12, 2021, on Disney+, 71 days later. Eternals, which arrived in theaters on Nov. 5, 2021, premiered on Disney+ on Jan. 12, 2022, a wait of 68 days.

But the real eye-opener is that Disney+ held back with those release dates. The studio’s deal with theaters says the MCU only has to wait 45 days between the film’s debut in theaters and streaming. Technically, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which opened May 6, could travel through time and space to Disney+ as soon as June 22, 2022.

That said, it is highly doubtful Disney (or theaters) will want to rush the good Doctor or his multiverse out of theaters when it’s bringing in serious money. And though Thor: Love & Thunder is just around the corner, arriving July 8, that doesn’t necessarily mean Disney and Marvel will want one out of the way of the other. Multiple Marvel movies in theaters simultaneously tend to have a halo effect on each other. Black Panther and the Avengers crossover that followed buoyed each other at the box office, and Avengers Endgame’s box office rose when Spider-Man: Far From Home came out.

From a box office gross standpoint, Doctor Strange 2 will most likely stay exclusive to theaters for the first week or so of Thor 4’s run. That would place a debut on Disney+ ~July 15, which also happens to be 70 days after its theatrical debut. Sounds about right to me.

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