Marvel reaps familiar results with a strange debut as Benedict Cumberbatch works some magic to defy low box office projections.

Forecast to take in anywhere from $55-to-$75 million, Doctor Strange far exceeded expectations with $85 million over its first three days. The third best debut for any movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (trailing Iron Man‘s $98.6 million and Guardians of the Galaxy‘s $94.3 million), Doctor Strange conjured impressive power over a weekend that also saw a super launch from DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls. The feel-great semi-musical starring the voices of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, and Zooey Deschanel brought in a vibrant $45.6 million.

Even with those two movies pulling in the masses, there was still plenty of room for Mel Gibson‘s much anticipated (and critically-hailed) return to the director’s chair. Hacksaw Ridge, based on the true story of a WWII Conscientious Objector’s heroics that earned him the Medal of Honor, took in $14.7 million. That’s a solid haul for the grisly-yet-uplifting Rated R adult fare that played on roughly two-thirds as many screens nationwide as the two big moneymakers. It stars Andrew Garfield and Vince Vaughn.

With all three movies getting an “A” Cinemascore from audiences, they look to have legs going into their second weekend when the only new big release entry on November 11th is the sci-fi drama Arrival.