Current:Home > News'Dune: Part Two' rides great reviews, starry young cast to $81.5 million debut -Wealth Legacy Solutions
'Dune: Part Two' rides great reviews, starry young cast to $81.5 million debut
View
Date:2025-04-16 03:50:35
Movie theaters were looking for a savior and "Dune: Part Two" is delivering on the promise. Armed with sandworms, big-screen spectacle and the star power of Timothée Chalamet, Denis Villeneuve 's science fiction epic stormed the North American box office this weekend, earning $81.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.Internationally, the movie earned $97 million, bringing its global debut to $178.5 million.
Mary Parent, a producer on both "Dune" films, hailed it as "a really extraordinary and special film."
"It was made for the big screen and it feels like it's being received as a cinematic event," she said.
The "Dune" sequel is the first major hit of 2024, and one that was sorely needed by exhibitors.
Although there have been holdovers from December that have continued to earn, like "Wonka" (also starring Chalamet) and the Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney romantic comedy "Anyone But You," the box office is in a bit of a drought. In the first two months of 2024, no films have crossed $100 million domestically. The highest-earning movies have been "The Beekeeper," "Bob Marley: One Love" and "Mean Girls."
Spoilers ahead!'Dune: Part Two' ending explained: Paul Atreides' revenge is harrowing warning
"Dune 2" rode a wave of great reviews (94% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) into a marketplace that was essentially free of competition. The film played in 4,071 locations in the U.S. and Canada, where audiences gave it a CinemaScore grade of A.
Men made up 59% of opening-weekend ticket buyers and 64% were older than 25.
"It really captured the marketplace," says Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution. "It's a cultural moment globally."
Premium large format screens like IMAX and 70mm accounted for 48% of the business. It marked a March record for IMAX, which made up $18.5 million of the overall take.
'Dune: Part 2':Sadistic siblings Austin Butler and Dave Bautista loved hating each other
Originally planned for an October 2023 release, Warner Bros. bumped the movie to March amid the Hollywood strikes that would have prevented its starry cast of Chalamet, Zendaya and Austin Butler from doing the promotional circuit. The global promotional tour has been on hyperdrive for about a month, driving conversations with buzzy interviews, the viral sandworm-inspired popcorn bucket and eye-popping fashion moments from the stylish young cast – peaking with Zendaya dressed in vintage Mugler as a silver cyborg in London.
Goldstein noted there was "a lot of debate" about whether or not to release the movie during the strikes, but they knew that they needed the cast to "fully realize the movie."
"You don't make movie stars any place other than theaters," Goldstein says.
The first "Dune" opened under complicated conditions in October 2021. It was one of the last films of the studio's divisive plan to simultaneously debut its major movies in theaters and on its streaming platform. And yet it still earned more than $40 million in its first weekend and went on to gross $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," says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore.This weekend, he added, "moves the needle in a big way."
Going into the weekend, the box office was down about 20% from the same point last year (when "Avatar: The Way of Water," a 2022 release, was lifting everything). The closest equivalent this year is "Wonka," still a hit, but not as big as "Avatar 2." After the opening of "Dune," the deficit will be closer to 13%.
"It shows how important one movie can be to the overall health of the industry," Dergarabedian says. "But this is not a one-hit wonder for March. It's a momentum business."
Warner Bros. will be back in short order with another big film, in "Godzilla x Kong" at the end of March, followed by "Furiosa" in May, the "Beetlejuice" sequel in September and the "Joker" sequel in October.
"This is our year," Goldstein says. "Exhibitors are fighting for their lives but we can be clever and collaborative with them to keep our business relevant to audiences."
Final numbers are expected Monday.
veryGood! (429)
Related
- Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
- Newly released Coast Guard footage shows wreckage of Titan submersible on ocean floor
- Pharrell Williams slammed as 'out of touch' after saying he doesn't 'do politics'
- Baker Mayfield says Bryce Young's story is 'far from finished' following benching
- Bodycam footage shows high
- Demolition to begin on long-troubled St. Louis jail
- The Real Reason Joan Vassos Gave Her First Impression Rose to This Golden Bachelorette Contestant
- Emily in Paris' Lucas Bravo Reveals He Wasn't Originally Cast as Gabriel
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- Watch: Astros' Jose Altuve strips down to argue with umpire over missed call
Ranking
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Why Sean Diddy Combs No Longer Has to Pay $100 Million in Sexual Assault Case
- Authorities find body believed to be suspect in Kentucky highway shooting
- Blue Jackets open camp amid lingering grief over death of Johnny Gaudreau
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- Winners of the 2024 Python Challenge announced: Nearly 200 Burmese pythons captured
- Autopsy finds a California couple killed at a nudist ranch died from blows to their heads
- America’s political system is under stress as voters and their leaders navigate unfamiliar terrain
Recommendation
Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
Malik Willis downplays revenge game narrative for Packers vs. Titans
2 corrections officers stabbed, 3 others injured in assault at Massachusetts prison
Kaitlyn Bristowe Reveals Why She and Ex Jason Tartick Are No Longer Sharing Custody of Their 2 Dogs
John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
Eva Mendes Shares Her and Ryan Gosling's Kids Are Not Impressed With Her Movies
Leaders of Democratic protest of Israel-Hamas war won’t endorse Harris but warn against Trump
Raven-Symoné Says Demi Lovato Was Not the Nicest on Sonny with a Chance—But Doesn't Hold It Against Her