Over the weekend, Whovians all over the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of the beloved long-running British sci-fi show ‘Doctor Who’ with a very special episode titled ‘The Day of the Doctor’ starring Matt Smith, David Tennant, and John Hurt all as the titular Time Lord. The TV special aired on Saturday with a global simulcast, but it was also shown in theaters across the US on Monday, November 25th in 3D for a one-night-only engagement. And just from that one night, the cult favorite series pulled some incredibly impressive numbers that trumped nearly every movie in America currently in theaters.

‘The Day of the Doctor’ grossed $4.8 million at the US box office on Monday night. 660 theaters across the country screened the 75-minute special as part of the milestone celebration and averaged about $7.155 per location. With numbers like these, ‘Doctor Who’ rightfully took it’s spot as the #2 movie in America, falling only to Katniss Everdeen and ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’. Soumya Sriraman, EVP Home Entertainment and Licensing, BBC Worldwide North America commented on this massive success for the Doctor:

“It’s incredible that ‘Doctor Who’ has made history once again, setting record numbers across the board on BBC America, in social media, and now in theaters. It’s a testament to the fans and their dedication for ‘Doctor Who’.”

Back home in the BBC show’s homeland, the ‘Doctor Who’ episode landed at the #3 spot at the UK box office by earning $2.9 million. Only ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ and ‘Gravity’ managed to gross more than the 50th anniversary special. According to Variety, it also received the distinction of being the most successful piece of “alternative content” to ever screen in England.

On top of the massive success of the Doctor during one day in cinemas, he didn’t do too shabbily on the small screen either. A record-braking total of 2.4 million viewers tuned in for the first showing on BBC America. Later on, the number grew to 3.6 million for the encore presentation, so chances are that many fans caught ‘Day of the Doctor’ for a second or third (or more) viewing on Monday night in the theater.

Did you manage to catch ‘Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor’ in theaters for the special one-night-only showing on Monday night? How much different was seeing the Doctor and his TARDIS on the big screen as opposed to on your TVs or computers? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: Entertainment Weekly