‘Dune: Part Two’ brings spice power to the box office with $81.5 million debut
Movie theaters had been in search of a savoir and “ Dune: Part Two ” is delivering on the promise. Armed with sandworms, large display spectacle and the star energy of Timothée Chalamet, Denis Villeneuve ’s science fiction epic stormed the North American field workplace this weekend incomes $81.5 million in ticket gross sales, in keeping with studio estimates Sunday.
Internationally, it earned $97 million, bringing its world debut to 178.5 million.
“Denis made a really extraordinary and special film and its been really exciting to see people respond,” mentioned Mary Parent, a producer on each “Dune” movies and chairman of worldwide manufacturing at Legendary. “It was made for the big screen and it feels like it’s being received as a cinematic event.”
It’s the primary main hit of 2024, and one which was sorely wanted by exhibitors. Although there have been holdovers from December which have continued to earn, like Warner Bros.’ “ Wonka ” (additionally starring Chalamet) and Sony’s romantic comedy “Anyone But You,” the field workplace is in a little bit of a drought. In the primary two months of 2024, no movies have crossed $100 million domestically. The highest incomes motion pictures have been “The Beekeeper,” “Bob Marley: One Love” and “Mean Girls.”
“Dune 2″ rode a wave of nice opinions (94% on Rotten Tomatoes) right into a market that was primarily freed from competitors. Warner Bros. launched it in 4,071 places within the U.S. and Canada, the place audiences throughout the board gave it the best PostTrak marks and an A CinemaScore. According to exit information, males accounted for 59% of opening weekend ticket patrons and 64% had been over the age of 25. The sequel was primarily financed by Legendary and its manufacturing finances, beforehand reported to be within the $122 million vary, is nearer to $190 million.
“It really captured the marketplace,” mentioned Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. president of home distribution. “It’s a cultural moment globally.”
Premium massive format screens like IMAX and 70mm accounted for 48% of the opening weekend business. It marked a March document for IMAX, which made up $18.5 million of the general take. Villeneuve filmed the film utilizing IMAX cameras. Unlike “ Oppenheimer,” it was shot on digital, however with the additional time with the strike delay they had been in a position to make movie prints as nicely and the movie format is proving a preferred draw for audiences.
“Our most iconic film locations are virtually sold out for weeks,” mentioned IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond.
The $81.5 million debut can be a document for its director Villeneuve, and stars Chalamet, Austin Butler and Rebecca Ferguson.
Originally deliberate for an October 2023 launch, Warner Bros. bumped the film to March amid the Hollywood strikes that may have prevented its starry forged from doing the promotional circuit. The world promo tour has been on hyperdrive for a couple of month, driving conversations with buzzy interviews, the viral sandworm-inspired popcorn bucket and eye-popping style moments from the fashionable younger forged – peaking with Zendaya’s silver cyborg showstopper (classic Mugler) in London. They’ve made stops in Mexico City, South Korea, Abu Dhabi and New York City.
“We worked very hard to be ready for that (original) date but we very much felt that, especially with this incredible cast, that it was worth waiting for,” Parent mentioned.
Goldstein added that there was “a lot of debate” over whether or not or to not launch it through the strikes however they knew that they wanted the forged to “fully realize the movie.”
“You don’t make movie stars any place other than theaters,” Goldstein mentioned. “Cinemas, on the big screen with the big sound and that shared experience makes a big star, or show the talent of a big star anyway.”
The first “ Dune ” opened below sophisticated situations in October 2021. It was one of many final movies of Warner Bros.’ divisive plan to concurrently debut its main motion pictures in theaters and on its streaming platform. And but it nonetheless earned over $40 million in its first weekend and went on to gross over $400 million worldwide.
“Denis Villeneuve is up there with Christopher Nolan as a filmmaker whose name alone inspires people to go to the movie theater,” mentioned Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore.
This weekend, he added, “moves the needle in a big way.”
Going into the weekend the field workplace was down about 20% from the identical level final 12 months (when “Avatar: The Way of Water,” a 2022 launch, was lifting the whole lot). The closest equal this 12 months is “Wonka,” nonetheless a success, however not as large as “Avatar 2.” After the “Dune” weekend, the deficit might be nearer to 13%.
“It shows how important one movie can be to the overall health of the industry,” Dergarabedian mentioned. “But this is not a one-hit wonder for March. It’s a momentum business. Now we’re going to get the wind back in the sails as we head further into March, April and the summer movie season.”
Warner Bros. is a kind of studios that might be again briefly order with one other large movie, in “Godzilla x Kong” on the finish of March, adopted by “Furiosa” in May, the “Beetlejuice” sequel in September and the “Joker” sequel in October.
“This is our year,” Goldstein mentioned. “Exhibitors are fighting for their lives but we can be clever and collaborative with them to keep our business relevant to audiences.”
Estimated ticket gross sales for Friday via Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, in keeping with Comscore. Final home figures might be launched Monday.
1. “Dune: Part Two,” $81.5 million.
2. “Bob Marley: One Love,” $7.4 million.
3. “Ordinary Angels,” $3.9 million.
4. “Madame Web,” $3.2 million.
5. “The Chosen: Season 4, Episodes 7-8,” $3.2 million.
6. “Migration, $2.5 million.
7. “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – To the Hashi,” $2.1 million.
8. “Wonka,” $1.7 million.
9. “Argylle,” $1.4 million.
10. “The Beekeeper,” $1.1 million.
