Doctor Strange

Plot

In Kathmandu, the sorcerer Kaecilius and his zealots enter the secret compound Kamar-Taj and behead its librarian. They steal several pages from a book belonging to the Ancient One, a long-lived sorcerer who has taught every student at Kamar-Taj, including Kaecilius, in the mystic arts. The Ancient One pursues the traitors, but Kaecilius and his followers escape.

In New York City, Dr. Stephen Strange, a wealthy, acclaimed, and arrogant neurosurgeon, severely injures his hands in a car crash while en route to a speaking conference, leaving him permanently unable to operate. Fellow surgeon Christine Palmer tries to help him move on, but Strange vainly pursues experimental surgeries to heal his hands. Strange learns about Jonathan Pangborn, a paraplegic who mysteriously regained use of his legs. Pangborn directs Strange to Kamar-Taj, where he is taken in by Mordo, a sorcerer under the Ancient One. The Ancient One demonstrates her power to Strange, revealing the astral plane and other dimensions such as the Mirror Dimension. She reluctantly agrees to train Strange, whose arrogance and ambition remind her of Kaecilius.

Strange studies under the Ancient One and Mordo, and from ancient texts in the library that are now guarded by Master Wong. Strange learns that Earth is protected from threats from other dimensions by a shield generated from three Sanctums in New York City, London, and Hong Kong, which are all directly accessible from Kamar-Taj. The sorcerers' task is to protect the Sanctums, though Pangborn instead chose to channel mystical energy only to heal his paralysis. Strange progresses quickly, and secretly reads the book from which Kaecilius stole pages, learning to bend time with the Eye of Agamotto. Mordo and Wong warn Strange against breaking the laws of nature, drawing a comparison to Kaecilius' desire for eternal life.

Kaecilius uses the stolen pages to contact Dormammu of the Dark Dimension, where time is non-existent, and destroys the London Sanctum to weaken Earth's protection. The zealots then attack the New York Sanctum, killing its guardian, but Strange holds them off with the help of the Cloak of Levitation, only to be critically injured during a skirmish. He teleports himself back to the hospital where Palmer saves him. Upon returning to the Sanctum, Strange reveals to Mordo that the Ancient One has been drawing power from the Dark Dimension to sustain long life, and Mordo becomes disillusioned with her. After a fight in the Mirror Dimension of New York, Kaecilius mortally wounds the Ancient One and escapes to Hong Kong. Before dying, she tells Strange that he and Mordo will have to work together to defeat Kaecilius, balancing Mordo's steadfast nature against Strange's willingness to bend the rules. Strange and Mordo arrive in Hong Kong to find Wong dead, the Sanctum destroyed, and the Dark Dimension engulfing Earth. Strange uses the Eye to reverse time and save Wong, then enters the Dark Dimension and creates an endless time loop around himself and Dormammu. After repeatedly killing Strange to no avail, Dormammu finally accepts his bargain, leaving Earth permanently and taking Kaecilius and the zealots with him in exchange for Strange breaking the loop.

Cast

Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange: A neurosurgeon who, after a car crash that led to a journey of healing, discovers the hidden world of magic and alternate dimensions. Cumberbatch described Strange as arrogant, with the film "about him going from a place where he thinks he knows it all to realizing he knows nothing." He compared the character to the version of Sherlock Holmes that he portrays in Sherlock, calling both characters "intelligent" and having "smatterings of the same colors". The film's mysticism resonated with Cumberbatch, for whom spirituality has been important since he spent his gap year teaching English at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Darjeeling, India. Strange's abilities in the film include casting spells with "tongue-twisty fun names", creating mandalas of light for shields and weapons, and creating portals for quick travel around the world. Strange is also aided by a Cloak of Levitation for flight, and the Eye of Agamotto, a relic containing an Infinity Stone that can manipulate time. Cumberbatch took great care in defining the physical movements and gestures for the spells, knowing that they would be noted and studied by fans. He described these gestures as "balletic" and "very dynamic", and received help with finger-tutting movements from dancer JayFunk.

Chiwetel Ejiofor as Karl Mordo: A Master of the Mystic Arts, close to the Ancient One and a mentor to Strange. This version of Mordo is a combination of different characters from the Doctor Strange mythos, and unlike in the comics is not introduced as villainous. Ejiofor noted this, calling Mordo "a very complex character that, really, I don't think can be nailed down either way". Director Scott Derrickson added that the change in character stemmed from casting Ejiofor and conversations the director had with him. Ejiofor described Mordo's relationship with the Ancient One as "long and intense", while noting a "growing respect" between the character and Strange, until "things get complicated". Derrickson felt Mordo was a fundamentalist, saying "When someone gives themselves over to an extraordinarily strict moral code, the process of breaking out of that is a violent one. He becomes disillusioned with the Ancient One's [moral contradictions]. The difference is Strange can accept that contradiction. Mordo cannot cope with it," which leads to the "antagonism between Mordo and Strange" to explore in future films. Discussing the diversity of the film's cast when addressing the controversial casting of the characters the Ancient One and Wong, Derrickson was confident that the decision to cast Ejiofor as Mordo, and thus changing the character "from white to black", was the right one to make.

Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer: An emergency surgeon initially written as a love interest for Strange, but shortly before filming, Derrickson suggested that this trope be subverted by making the two characters lovers as part of their backstory and coming "out the other side of it as friends". McAdams described this dynamic by saying, "The love is between them no matter what stage they're at in the actual relationship." With this change in characterization, producer Kevin Feige described Palmer as a "lynchpin to [Strange's] old life, once he steps into the role of a sorcerer. She is someone he connects with at the beginning, and reconnects with, and helps anchor his humanity." He explained that having this character be a "connection to Strange's life in New York City, in the normal world" after his journey was important to the studio, which is why Palmer was chosen for the character over the more prominent, but more fantastical character Clea. Palmer is also known as the hero Night Nurse in the comics, a storyline that does not play into the film, but that Feige hinted could be explored in future films. Rosario Dawson portrays another Night Nurse character, Claire Temple, in Marvel's Netflix television series.

Production

Development

A film based on the Marvel Comics character Doctor Strange was initially listed as being in development at New World Pictures, with a script dated January 21, 1986, by Bob Gale, which never went further into production. By 1989, Alex Cox had co-written a script with Marvel Comics' Stan Lee. The script had the character traveling to the Fourth Dimension before facing the villain Dormammu on Easter Island, Chile. A film using this script was almost made by Regency, but Regency's films were distributed by Warner Bros. at the time, which was in a dispute with Marvel over merchandising. Around this time, producer Charles Band optioned the property from Marvel and began developing a film at his studio Full Moon Entertainment. However, the option expired before production could begin and the project was reworked into the 1992 film Doctor Mordrid, whose titular character bore similarities to Doctor Strange. By December 1992, Wes Craven had signed to write and direct Doctor Strange for release in either 1994 or 1995, with Savoy Pictures distributing. In 1995, David S. Goyer had completed a script for the film. By April 1997, Columbia Pictures had purchased the film rights and Jeff Welch was working on a new screenplay, with Bernie Brillstein and Brad Grey producing.

By April 2000, Columbia dropped Doctor Strange, which then had Michael France attached to write a script and interest from Chuck Russell and Stephen Norrington to direct. By June 2001, Dimension Films acquired the film rights, with Goyer back on board as writer and director. Goyer hinted scheduling conflicts might ensue with a film adaptation of Murder Mysteries, and promised not to be highly dependent on computer-generated imagery. However, by August 2001, Miramax Films acquired the film rights from Dimension Films, and by March 2002, Goyer had dropped out of the project. A 2005 release date was announced the next March, while in June 2004, a script still had yet to be written. Marvel Studios CEO Avi Arad stated, "We are nowhere with that. That's a tough one to write, but we are working on it. We are trying to find the real Jerry Garcia of the writing community." In April 2005, Paramount Pictures acquired Doctor Strange from Miramax Films, as part of Marvel Studios' attempt to independently produce their own films. At the time, the film was projected to have a budget of no more than $165 million. In 2007, Guillermo del Toro and Neil Gaiman pitched a version of the film to Marvel, with Gaiman writing and del Toro directing. Their version would have seen the character be alcoholic and a disbarred physician in the late 1920s or early 1930s and he would have been living in Greenwich Village for 90 years without aging. It would have also been heavily inspired by the art of Steve Ditko. Gaiman was especially interested in including the character Clea, but the studio was not interested.

Pre-production

In June 2014, Derrickson was chosen to direct the film. He had written a 12-page scene for the film featuring Strange and an assailant fighting in the astral plane while a doctor attempts to save Strange's physical body in a hospital, based on a sequence from the comic Doctor Strange: The Oath. Derrickson illustrated the sequence with his own concept art, alongside storyboards from professional artists and an animatic, which he presented in a 90-minute pitch to the studio. This cost Derrickson an "obnoxious amount" of his own money, but he felt it necessary to prove "that I wanted [the job] more than anyone", especially after Marvel told him that more people had lobbied to direct Doctor Strange than any of their other films. Derrickson ultimately had eight meetings with Marvel for the film. After he was hired, Marvel bought the 12-page scene from Derrickson, and it became one of the film's main set pieces.

On transitioning from horror films to a superhero film, Derrickson said, "It was nice to work on something more positive. And not have my headspace in something so dark for so long. But it was also weirdly similar because of the fantastical nature of the movie". In his horror films, Derrickson tried to use "real characters and real character drama played by good actors ... [to] encounter the fantastical", and so he wanted actors of the same high caliber for Doctor Strange through which he could introduce the more fantastical elements to the MCU.

Derrickson and Marvel had originally discussed him writing the film alongside his Sinister co-writer C. Robert Cargill, with Derrickson also directing, but Marvel felt that they would not be able to reach their intended release date of July 2016 if Derrickson filled both roles. When Derrickson was chosen as director, Marvel passed on Cargill as an individual writer, with Jon Spaihts hired to rewrite the script instead. Spaihts, a big fan of Doctor Strange as a child, had started "pestering" Marvel as soon as he read reports of the company searching for a director for the film. This eventually led to him meeting with the studio, before they actually began looking for writers for the film. Spaihts said that they talked "all afternoon, and the fit was right", but he received a call from Marvel several days later saying that they were not completely sure they wanted to take the film in the same direction as Spaihts, and were going to look at other writers. Spaihts told his agent to not "take that answer. Call them back, tell them there's a lot of right answers, and get me back in the room", and after talking with Marvel for "another three or four hours" he was given the job. Marvel never seriously looked at any other writer for the film.

Filming

Principal photography began in Nepal on November 4, 2015, under the working title Checkmate. Ben Davis, serving as cinematographer for the film after doing the same on Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Age of Ultron, described Doctor Strange as Marvel's Fantasia, and noted that a lot of previsualization was required to figure out how to shoot the "psychedelic", M. C. Escher-inspired imagery. Davis used the Arri Alexa 65 camera for the film, along with the Arri Alexa XT Plus. Vision Research Phantom Flex 4Ks, which shoot up to 1000 fps, were used for high-speed sequences like Strange's car crash.

Derrickson chose Nepal as a location to feature an "Eastern city" that would not be familiar to most audiences. After scouting and deciding on locations in the country, many of those areas were destroyed by the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. Rather than choosing another country, Derrickson and Cumberbatch felt that bringing attention and tourism to Nepal following the event "was all the more reason to shoot there". Cargill said that the location of Kamar-Taj was shifted from Tibet to Nepal to prevent censorship by the Chinese government. Cumberbatch said that shooting in Nepal was "absolutely vital to this film, I think not least because it's so based in something that is exotic. It was a magical way to start the shoot. It's important to a film like this—which has a profound gearshift into a spiritual and otherworldly dimension—that the portal for that be in a place that actually happens in itself to be incredibly spiritual and marvelous." The eventual filming locations around the Kathmandu Valley included the Pashupatinath and Swayambhunath Temples; Thamel and New Road in Kathmandu; and the Patan Durbar Square in Patan.

Production moved to Longcross Studios in Surrey, England on November 11, and was scheduled to stay there until March 2016. The real Kathmandu street that led into the fictional Kamar-Taj courtyard was replicated at Longcross, which production designer Charles Wood described as "very hard because Kathmandu is a most beautiful city and it's steeped in history. To transition from that level of detail and history, with the shape of the streets, the warping of the buildings, these ancient bricks and these ancient tiles, was a real challenge." For authenticity, the set was dressed with real food, and populated with dogs, pigeons, and Nepalese extras, many of whom were relatives of people who live on the real Kathmandu street. The inside of Kamar-Taj was also constructed at Longcross, with "sculptors creating beautiful columns and wall decorations and craftsmen building screens and doors to evoke the exotic feel of the ancient sanctuary." Wood's goal was to make the set feel like the Ancient One and her disciples actually lived there, and give it a "truly spiritual, truly magical" feel, while integrating it into a real building that the production filmed in Kathmandu. This and the Kathmandu street were two of twenty-one sets that the crew built at Longcross. Others included Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, and a Hong Kong street "complete with over 80 neon signs and a giant roof to keep the rain out." Location shooting in Hong Kong was initially planned, but the crew decided to film at Longcross instead after scouting locations and using photos taken in Hong Kong as references to construct the street set. Citypoint on Ropemaker Street, London, doubled as the New York City building where the Ancient One falls to her death.

Post-production

In June 2016, a Diamond Select Toys press release for Doctor Strange toys, in their Marvel Minimates line, named Mikkelsen's character Kaecilius and McAdams' character Christine Palmer. Mikkelsen's role was confirmed in an official tie-in comic for the film, while McAdams' was confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con in 2016. Additionally, Benjamin Bratt was revealed to have been cast as Jonathan Pangborn; Adkins' role was revealed to be Lucian, a follower of Kaecilius; and Landecker's role was later revealed to be anesthesiologist Dr. Bruner. The latter was mostly cut from the film, with Landecker explaining that she had been cast in the small role, for two scenes at the beginning of the film, because Derrickson was a fan of her performance in A Serious Man, which also starred Stuhlbarg. After filming her first scene, in which she assists Strange with a surgery, Landecker asked not to be involved in the other scene because she had no lines for it and was only seen from behind, and instead wished to attend a special premiere at the White House for her series Transparent. The actress believed she was later cut from the first scene, but she is still credited for a brief appearance. Also, Derrickson revealed that Lulu Wilson had been cast as Strange's sister, for a scene depicting her drowning at a young age. The scene had been shot, and Derrickson thought it was "great [as a] self-contained scene", but it "didn't work" with the rest of the film, and was cut.

Also at San Diego Comic-Con, Derrickson noted that there were still "a couple pickup shoots" to do for the film to "clarify the logic". Further content for the film's training sequence was also shot during these reshoots, as early test audiences "loved [the training portion of the film] and wanted more". Wong indicated that the reshoots had been completed in August. Dan Harmon wrote material for these additional scenes, which Derrickson described as "script analysis and dialogue work", not enough to receive credit in the film. Feige said that in addition to any humor that Harmon could add to the film, he was brought on to "give us his opinions on the sci-fi concepts." Before the film's sets were demolished, Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi took advantage by writing and filming a scene featuring Strange meeting Chris Hemsworth's Thor. The scene was for Ragnarok and shot before that film began production. Derrickson and Marvel felt the scene was "kind of perfect" to show Strange joining the wider MCU after his stand alone introduction, and so added it to Doctor Strange as a mid-credits scene. A post-credits scene, directed by Derrickson, teases Mordo's role as an antagonist to Strange in a potential Doctor Strange sequel.

Stan Lee's cameo in the film was directed by Gunn on the set of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. This was alongside several other Lee cameos, to limit the amount of travel he had to do for the next four MCU films. Gunn contacted Derrickson during the shoot to ensure that the shot matched up with the respective Doctor Strange scene, and "kept throwing lines at" Lee on the day to give Derrickson and Marvel plenty of options to choose from for the film. Additional options Gunn filmed included Lee reading a book and asking a gentleman next to him if he knew what the word excelsior meant; Lee laughing really hard and stating he was laughing for no reason, being "totally crazy"; and Lee laughing hysterically at a Garfield book, noting how the character "HATES Mondays but he LOVES lasagna!". Gunn felt the Garfield option was originally meant to appear in the final version of the film, but ended up being too long for the scene. By October 10, 2016, Derrickson had completed the film.

Music

In May 2016, Michael Giacchino revealed that he would score the film. Derrickson called the score "magic in the literal sense of the word," adding Giacchino "is doing what good scorers do, which is he is not just creating music that supports the images, he's adding a third thing to the movie. It becomes something new with his music in there that it didn't have with temp music." The score was recorded at Abbey Road Studios. During a recording session, Paul McCartney heard one of Giacchino's cues being recorded and likened it to the Beatles song "I Am the Walrus". Derrickson, a Bob Dylan fan, looked for a place in the film to include one of his songs, but could not find one. However, he was able to include the song "Interstellar Overdrive" by Pink Floyd. Derrickson had hoped to use either "Interstellar Overdrive" or The Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Are You Experienced?" for the film's credits, but the royalties to use either in the credits were too expensive, resulting in Giacchino creating the track "The Master of the Mystic End Credits". A soundtrack album from Hollywood Records was released digitally on October 21, 2016, with a physical release on November 18, 2016.

Marketing

In August 2015, a concept art trailer narrated by Derrickson was shown at the D23 Expo. The images showed artwork of Cumberbatch in a traditional Doctor Strange outfit from the comics, as well as a rough sequence of the plot, highlighting points such as Strange's car crash, his journey for healing, and fighting Ejiofor as Mordo (before the character was moved away from a villainous role in the film per discussions between Derrickson and the actor). The trailer was met with "a very big reaction from the gathered crowd."

On April 12, 2016, the first teaser trailer for the film debuted on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Clark Collis of Entertainment Weekly compared the "series of kaleidoscopic, world-bending scenes" featured in the trailer to the film Inception, as did Scott Mendelson of Forbes. Forbes added that the structure of the trailer resembled early marketing for the film Batman Begins. The Hollywood Reporter's Graeme McMillian criticized these similarities, as well as similarities to The Matrix and between Cumberbatch's American accent and that of Hugh Laurie's Gregory House from House, calling them not "necessarily a real problem, of course ... [but] there's nothing there outside the derivative aspects: due to the nature of the trailer, there's no story beyond the 'white man finds enlightenment in Asia' trope and barely any dialogue to let audiences decide that maybe the performances will elevate the material." McMillian did enjoy the visual effects and the visual of "Tilda Swinton literally knock[ing] Benedict Cumberbatch's soul out of his body," but concluded, "as an introduction to not only a brand new franchise for Marvel, but a potential new genre, this feels far less bold and assured" than the first trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy.

In July 2016, Marvel Comics released a prelude tie-in comic written by Will Corona Pilgrim, with art by Jorge Fornés. The issue sees four Masters of the Mystic Arts–Kaecilius, Wong, Tina Minoru and Daniel Drumm–pursue a woman who has stolen a mystical relic. A second issue, centered on the Ancient One training apprentices in the magical arts at Kamar-Taj, was released a month later. Derrickson, Cumberbatch, Swinton, Ejiofor, McAdams, Mikkelsen, and Wong attended San Diego Comic-Con 2016, where they debuted an exclusive clip and the second trailer for the film. The next month, the same Comic-Con clip was screened at the Asia Pop Comic Convention Manila. In September 2016, an additional prelude comic was released, centered on Kaecilius, while behind the scenes footage was released as a special feature on the Captain America: Civil War Blu-ray. Also in September, Marvel, in partnership with Dolby Laboratories, Broadcom, Synchrony Bank, and Society for Science & the Public, announced "The Magic of STEM Challenge", aimed at females aged 15 through 18 in STEM fields. The challenge was for contestants to submit videos of them finding mentors to explore ideas once thought to only be possible with magic. Five winners would attend the world premiere of the film, and receive a tour of Walt Disney Studios, as well as a $1,000 saving account from Synchrony Bank, with one grand prize winner receiving a mentorship with Walt Disney Studio's Digital Team.

Release

Theatrical

Doctor Strange held its world premiere in Hong Kong on October 13, 2016, and had its premiere in Hollywood, Los Angeles, at the TCL Chinese Theatre and El Capitan Theatre on October 20, 2016. The film was released in the United Kingdom on October 25, 2016, alongside a total of 33 markets in its first weekend, with 213 IMAX screens in 32 of those markets. It was screened at the EW PopFest on October 28, 2016, in Los Angeles. Doctor Strange's North America release on November 4 took place in 3,882 venues, of which 3,530 were in 3D, along with 379 IMAX theaters, 516 premium large-format (Disney's biggest release in that format to date), and 189 D-Box locations. Overall, Doctor Strange had the widest IMAX release ever globally, along with being the first film to release on more than 1,000 IMAX screens. It was previously reported to have been scheduled for a July 8, 2016, release, before the production schedule shifted to accommodate Cumberbatch's other commitments. Doctor Strange is part of Phase Three of the MCU.

Home media

Doctor Strange was released on digital download by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on February 14, 2017, and on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D and DVD on February 28, 2017. The digital and Blu-ray releases include behind-the-scenes featurettes; audio commentary; deleted scenes; a blooper reel; an exclusive preview of the Phase Three films Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, and Avengers: Infinity War; and Team Thor: Part 2, a continuation of the "mockumentary" short film Team Thor, that was directed by Waititi. Best Buy released an exclusive collector's edition SteelBook case for the regular and 3D Blu-ray release, featuring art based on the Book of Cagliostro and the Eye of Agamotto. Target's Blu-ray versions have an additional exclusive featurette, while the digital version also features an exclusive featurette. The IMAX Enhanced version of the film was made available on Disney+ beginning on November 12, 2021.

Reception

Box office

Doctor Strange grossed $232.6 million in the United States and Canada and $445.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $677.8 million. The film became the biggest IMAX opening in November domestically ($12.2 million), internationally ($24 million), and globally ($24.2 million), overtaking Interstellar's records. By November 27, 2016, the film had become the biggest single-character introduction film in the MCU. Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $122.65 million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it 11th on their list of 2016's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".

Doctor Strange earned $32.6 million on its opening day in the United States and Canada, including Thursday previews, with a total weekend gross of $85.1 million; IMAX contributed $12.2 million to the opening weekend gross, with 3D contributing $24 million. The film was the number one film for the weekend, and became the second largest opening in November for Disney. Initial projections for the film in late August 2016 had it earning as low as $50 million to as high as $88 million in its opening weekend, with projections revised to $65–75 million closer to the film's release. Doctor Strange remained the top film in its second weekend, and fell to second in its third, behind Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. In its fourth weekend, Doctor Strange was the third highest-grossing film, behind Fantastic Beasts and Moana. It fell to fifth in its fifth and sixth weekends, and by its seventh weekend had fallen to the ninth-highest-grossing place. It was projected to earn $255 million for its total domestic gross.

Outside the United States and Canada, Doctor Strange earned $87.7 million in its first weekend from 33 markets, becoming the top film in all markets except Lithuania and Finland. South Korea was the top market overall with $18.1 million, locally the biggest opening weekend ever for an original Marvel release, along with an all-time best opening for an IMAX film. IMAX garnered a record $7.8 million, the best international IMAX debut for a film in the month of October, with Russia seeing its biggest Saturday IMAX gross for a Marvel film. Additionally, Hong Kong ($3.2 million), Thailand ($2.5 million), Malaysia ($2.4 million), and Singapore ($2.2 million) also had the biggest opening weekend ever for an original Marvel film. In its second weekend, the film opened in 22 additional markets, becoming the top film in China with $44.4 million, the highest 3-day opening weekend for a first installment superhero film there. China's opening was also the third highest for an MCU film, behind Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War, as well as the best 3-day opening for an IMAX film in November with $6.3 million. IMAX also set November opening records in India, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador. Brazil was also a top market, earning $7.9 million.

Critical response

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 89%, with an average score of 7.3/10, based on 385 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Doctor Strange artfully balances its outré source material against the blockbuster constraints of the MCU, delivering a thoroughly entertaining superhero origin story in the bargain." On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 72 out of 100, based on reviews from 49 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a 91% overall positive score and a 73% "definite recommend".

The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy called Doctor Strange "an engaging, smartly cast and sporadically eye-popping addition" to the franchise, adding "this action movie ostensibly rooted in the mind-expanding tenets of Eastern mysticism is different enough to establish a solid niche alongside the blockbuster combine's established money machines." McCarthy, in addition to praising the acting, felt that there were certain sequences that "go far beyond [Inception] in visual spectacle" and that the time manipulation sequences, "seen to outstanding advantage in 3D, [were what] mind-trip-seeking audiences back in Doctor Strange's origin days would have called 'far-out' but today's fans will simply deem 'amazing'." Peter Debruge of Variety called the film "Marvel's most satisfying entry since Spider-Man 2," and wrote that despite having "the same look, feel, and fancy corporate sheen" as the other MCU films, it "boasts an underlying originality and freshness missing from the increasingly cookie-cutter comic-book realm of late." Debruge also praised the casting along with the multitude of visual effects the film was able to achieve.

Alonso Duralde, reviewing for TheWrap said, "True, Doctor Strange is an origin story, and occasionally hemmed in by the genre's narrative requirements, but it's smart enough to bring in great British actors to make the predictable paces and life lessons feel fresh and fascinating." Regarding the film's visuals, Duralde praised them, exclaiming, "In a year where bloated, empty spectacles have induced a crushing level of CG fatigue, this funny, freaky adventure reminds us of how effective VFX can be when they've got some imagination behind them." Manohla Dargis of The New York Times said, "The giddily enjoyable Doctor Strange ... is part of Marvel's strategy for world domination, yet it's also so visually transfixing, so beautiful and nimble that you may even briefly forget the brand." Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times said, "Within the familiar narrative contours of the origin story, writer-director Scott Derrickson crams in enough out-of-body experiences, spatial-temporal shenanigans and dazzlingly kaleidoscopic visuals to make you wonder if he and his co-writers ... were dropping acid behind the scenes."

Sequel

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was released on May 6, 2022. Sam Raimi replaced Derrickson as director, with a script written by Michael Waldron. Cumberbatch, Wong, Ejiofor, and McAdams reprised their roles, with Elizabeth Olsen also reprising her role of Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch from other MCU media.