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Not even the prophetic visions of Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides, the messianic protagonist of “Dune,” could have predicted the commercial appeal of director Denis Villeneuve’s ambitious interplanetary epics.
After all, when the long-in-the-works adaptation finally gained momentum in 2017, it was the superheroes, not the cerebral stories, that dominated the box office. “Dune,” in particular, was notoriously difficult to translate to film, as Hollywood learned from director David Lynch’s disastrous 1984 version.
It wasn’t just sci-fi fans, but also the general public, who helped “Dune: Part Two” push those enormous sandworms to the top of the box office charts. The big-budget sequel has grossed a higher-than-expected $82.5 million in North America and $182.5 million worldwide in its first weekend of release. It scored the biggest domestic release of the year and helped revive a barren box office. Initial ticket sales for the sequel have far surpassed that of the original, 2021’s “Dune,” which debuted with $41 million and landed simultaneously on HBO Max. It ended its run in theaters with $433 million worldwide, an impressive result that, however, box office experts considered would have been higher with an exclusive theatrical release.
“Doubling the box office debut of the previous film, even considering a hybrid release, is no small feat for a sequel in a genre that often has a difficult barrier to entry,” says Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice Pro. “The previous film’s goodwill and its stars’ ability to promote the film helped attract more than just die-hard fans this time around.”
“Dune: Part Two,” co-produced and co-financed by Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment, cost $190 million to produce and approximately $100 million more to promote to global audiences. It requires staying power at the box office (which analysts believe it is poised to have) to justify those lofty prices.
Here are five takeaways from its powerful box office debut:
A prophetic delay?
Theater owners were understandably disappointed that “Part Two,” originally scheduled to hit the big screen last fall, was delayed until this spring as a result of the actors’ strike. But the reality is that he might have been better positioned had he escaped the busy holiday season and relocated to the open ground in March. There was no major release in weeks, so “Dune 2” benefited from the pent-up demand to see a blockbuster on the big screen. Once Warner Bros. and Legendary had the stars at their disposal, they spared no expense in flying the extensive ensemble of Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin around the world to promote the film. As a result, the film was inescapable. “It’s really permeated the culture,” says “Dune” producer Mary Parent.
The power of Imax
Who can resist those colossal sandworms and epic fight scenes in Imax? As audiences ventured back to Arrakis, the desert planet where the action of “Dune” takes place, they chose to experience the journey on the biggest and best screens around. It is an advantage for studios because admission to those auditoriums costs more than the average ticket price. Large premium formats such as Imax and Dolby contributed a whopping 48% of the film’s total. By comparison, Christopher Nolan’s behemoth “Oppenheimer” took in 47% of the PLF’s initial ticket sales. The demand to experience “Part Two” on 70mm film (the director’s chosen format) was so stratospheric that some daring moviegoers felt they had no choice but to show up at 3:15 a.m.
“Our flagship film locations have been virtually sold out for weeks,” says Imax CEO Rich Gelfond.
Everyone praise Timothée Chalamet and Denis Villeneuve!
It’s a good weekend for Chalamet and Villeneuve, the dynamic duo at the center of the film franchise. After the commercial success of last December’s fantasy musical “Wonka,” largely thanks to the actor (Chalamet) wearing the top hat, “Dune” confirms that Timmy Tim is the rare leading man whose participation in a project can force people to go to the cinemas. And Villeneuve, demonstrating once again his skill at making cinematic sense of Frank Herbert’s bold vision, is the kind of director who can turn clever science fiction stories into widely appealing big-screen spectacles. It’s especially valuable at a time when once-proven IPs (like “Indiana Jones,” DC Comics and Marvel) have fallen short at the box office.
“This is a moment for Timothée Chalamet,” said Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution Jeff Goldstein, who also worked on “Wonka.” “Audiences are responding to the combination of Denis Villeneuve’s ability to tell a story in an extraordinary way and the extraordinary cast.”
How much can the “Dune” franchise expand?
The sequel has cemented “Dune” as a major new film franchise, but if producers stay true to the sacred text, it may be difficult to maintain this level of interest from the masses. Nothing has been greenlit yet, but Villeneuve has expressed his desire to complete a trilogy, hoping to develop the third film from Herbert’s follow-up novel, “Dune Messiah.” There are already plans to expand the “Dune” universe with the upcoming television series “Dune: Prophecy,” which will focus on the powerful brotherhood known as the Bene Gesserit. But as Disney is learning with its Marvel Cinematic Universe: Too good does exist. Fans can grow tired of beloved properties if they feel like there’s too much to keep track of. Also, “Dune” gets really weird the deeper you go into the books. Will audiences flock to key human characters who transform into sandworms or return as gholas, as “Dune” says to refer to resurrected clones? If you think multiverses exist narratively, wait until they start adapting “Children of Dune.”
More movies please!
Cinema operators could rejoice this weekend because for the first time in a long time the cash registers rang loudly. A week ago, domestic box office receipts were 20% behind the same period in 2023. But “Dune 2” helped narrow that gap to 13.5%, according to Comscore.
“What a difference a weekend makes,” said Comscore senior analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “Better late than never.”
But the reality is that multiplexes are still facing a major content shortage after several stores moved to 2025 and beyond due to Hollywood labor strikes. That’s a problem because movie theater owners need a constant flow of new movies to get people to go to theaters and buy popcorn. February was terrible with two weekends at record lows, and while March looks more promising… that’s a low bar. Can Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s family film “Kung Fu Panda 4” (March 8), Lionsgate’s Blumhouse thriller “Imaginary” (also March 8) and Sony’s sequel “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” close out the year? ” (March 22)? -date gap? Mark Wahlberg’s “Arthur the King,” a heartwarming story about a man who befriends an injured stray dog, could surprise in the vein of “Marley and Me” or Channing Tatum’s road trip adventure “Dog.” But it’s not expected to produce the kind of box office numbers that drive up movie theater stock prices.
“’Dune’ and next weekend’s “Kung Fu Panda 4” should turn the page on the cold start to 2024,” says David A. Gross, who runs the film consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “But overall, it will take time to refill the channel and adapt to changing tastes.”