Ticket sales at the box office this weekend will flow as freely as spice on the desert planet Arrakis.
Director Denis Villeneuve's big-budget sequel 'Dune: Part 2', where 'Spice' is an all-rounder, is aiming for an opening weekend of $70 million to $80 million. Warner Bros., which produces the sci-fi epic, is conservatively expecting a $65 million opening, but most box office forecasters believe it could be closer to $90 million. At the international box office, the 2021 'Dune' sequel is expected to collect between $80 million and $90 million from about 70 markets.
No matter where the initial tallies end, “Dune: Part 2” will deliver a much-needed jolt to movie theaters. It was originally scheduled to hit screens last fall, but was postponed to the spring as the actors' strike made it difficult for Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya and her co-stars to promote the film. Now, difficult times are ahead for the industry, with revenues down approximately 18% compared to 2023. Current estimates suggest the sequel should have the biggest opening weekend since the Blumhouse thriller 'Five Nights at Freddy's' ($80 million) last October.
Ticket sales are expected to surpass its predecessor, which opened with $41 million while simultaneously landing on HBO Max during the pandemic. 'Dune: Part One' opened with $402 million worldwide, one of the only financial wins from the studio's COVID-era hybrid release strategy. Nonetheless, analysts felt that an exclusive theatrical release would have made the original bigger. The sequel, co-produced and co-financed by Legendary Entertainment, cost $190 million, and that doesn't include millions of dollars in marketing and other global promotional efforts.
“Part Two” is the only new release releasing this weekend, so it will likely get the lion’s share of Imax and Dolby screens. In the case of ‘Part One’, 50% of domestic revenue came from premium large format format. 'Dune' is also expected to benefit from pent-up demand. main) And I have a fondness for the original work. But will the second chapter be able to expand its fan base of sci-fi lovers?
Based on the second half of Frank Herbert's massive book, “Dune 2” continues the mythical quest of Paul Atreides of Chalamet, who flees the desert to find safety after a powerful royal betrays his family. Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, and Christopher Walken join the extensive cast of Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, and Stellan Skarsgård.
Reaction and word of mouth were positive. various Senior film critic Peter Debruge praised the sequel as a “diverse, all-encompassing narrative.” Los Angeles Times critic Joshua Roskoff called the film “an instant landmark for its genre.”
Reviews are good, but movie theaters want to sell tickets. And “Dune 2” will help with that.