Last night, Marvel Studios released their highly-anticipated Marvel Phase 3 adventure Doctor Strange, which is expected to open big at the box office this weekend. The superhero adventure got off to a good start, taking in $9.4 million from Thursday night preview screenings, besting the Thursday night tallies of several hit superhero movies. Doctor Strange managed to earn more than the Thursday grosses of X-Men: Apocalypse ($8.2 million), Thor: The Dark World ($7.1 million) and Ant-Man ($6.4 million) as it heads into its opening weekend.

Deadline reports that while this Thursday night tally is certainly a respectable showing, it is nowhere close to the Marvel Studios Thursday record. Avengers: Age Of Ultron earned a whopping $27.6 million on its opening Thursday last summer, which lead to an $84.4 million opening day and a $191.2 million opening weekend. Earlier this summer, Captain America: Civil War made $25 million on Thursday, leading up to a $75.5 million opening day and a $179.1 million opening weekend.

Doctor Strange also added $10.6 million at the international box office, bringing its foreign total to $133 million. As of now, its best international market is Korea, with the superhero adventure earning $22.2 million in that country, followed by the United Kingdom with $15 million and France with $8.6 million. The film will open in the all-important Chinese market starting today, and it is scheduled to open in Japan on January 27.

Doctor Strange had an impressive international debut last weekend with $86 million. Doctor Strange is scheduled to open in approximately 3,882 theaters this weekend, and it is already a critical hit with a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Box office analysts have been predicting anywhere between an $75 million and an $85 million opening weekend for Doctor Strange.

From Marvel Studios comes Doctor Strange, the story of world-famous neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange whose life changes forever after a horrific car accident robs him of the use of his hands. When traditional medicine fails him, he is forced to look for healing, and hope, in an unlikely place-a mysterious enclave known as Kamar-Taj. He quickly learns that this is not just a center for healing but also the front line of a battle against unseen dark forces bent on destroying our reality. Before long, Doctor Strange, armed with newly acquired magical powers-is forced to choose whether to return to his life of fortune and status or leave it all behind to defend the world as the most powerful sorcerer in existence. Check back on Sunday to see how Doctor Strange fares at the box office this weekend.