With glowing reviews and a healthy marketing campaign, Dune: Part Two opened with an incredible 82.5 million at the domestic box office. That’s double its predecessor’s opening (41 million), which opened in the middle of the pandemic in theaters and streaming at the same time.
Not only that, but the movie also grossed an additional 100 million overseas for a worldwide opening of 182.5 million.
That’s a remarkable achievement, and the question is, how far can it go?
People are comparing Dune to Oppenheimer, which also opened with 82.5 at the domestic box office and 180 million worldwide, and eventually legged out to 329 million domestic and 960 million worldwide.
Both movies received “A” at Cinemascore – a fantastic result.
While I wish that Dune would have the same legs as Oppenheimer, I just don’t think it will happen. But I do think that it will have great legs.
The buzz is huge, the actors are well-known and popular, and apparently lots of people couldn’t get tickets for the large format screens, so they didn’t come.
I believe that anything above 600 million worldwide will be phenomenal for this 190-million epic production.
We can learn so much from this opening.
1 – People will show up for a sequel if they liked the first movie
That’s it. The first movie was beloved by audiences, and the ending clearly set up the second installment. Another great example was Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which was a sequel to a well-beloved movie, and opened more than double than its predecessor.
2 – Movie stars still matter
The movie was originally supposed to be released last November, but was delayed due to the strike. It was the right call, because Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya are very popular (especially with younger audiences), and they have tons of followers online. I heard that lots of people went to this movie because of them.
3 – People want a cinematic experience
When it comes to Dune, everyone agrees on one thing – you have to watch it on the biggest screen available. I watched it on IMAX, and it was one of my favourite cinema experiences. You can really feel every frame, and it makes it more than just a movie, but an event. Like in Avatar, it’s like the director brought you to a new planet.
4 – People want movies that feel real
One of the reasons Dune is so popular is because of the practical effects. The movie was shot on location, with as many practical effects as possible. There are tons of CGI, of course, but they balanced them so well and you can’t notice them.
When lots of movies these days are going with too much CGI, this one is very refreshing. That’s what CGI is for – to complete what you can’t do with practical effects.
For example, the iconic duel of Dumbledore and Voldemort from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix still looks incredible today, despite the fact that it was released in 2007. Why? Because they combined CGI and practical effects so well.
5 – Directors can sell tickets
Director Denis Villeneuve is officially one of the greatest directors of our generation. He created for himself an impressive Sci-Fi resume, with movies like Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, and now two Dune movies.
Like Christopher Nolan, he is one of those directors that people will show up only because it’s his movie.
I believe that this movie will make him even more popular, and I wouldn’t be surprised if people would start to call him “The next Christopher Nolan”.
So, as of now, Dune: Part Two is a phenomenal achievement in every way. Let’s see how it holds in the upcoming weeks.
