Dune Just Celebrated Another Box Office Win Ahead Of Part 2
Warner Bros. continues to try and do its part to lift up the box office during a difficult time, this time with a re-release of one of 2021's biggest movies, "Dune." The studio opted to put Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Frank Herbert's beloved sci-fi novel back in theaters for a weekend to help bring some attention to the release of next month's "Dune: Part Two." While it didn't do a ton to make a meaningful difference for the larger picture at the box office, it did signify that audiences are certainly interested in a return to this universe.
"Dune" pulled in $1.6 million over the weekend on 2,100 screens in North America. Granted, that makes for a relatively lousy $790 per-screen average but it was enough to get the movie back into the top ten on the charts, placing at number nine for the weekend just ahead of Best Picture nominee "American Fiction" ($1.3 million) and behind "Mean Girls" ($1.9 million). "Dune" has now amassed a grand total of $402.5 million globally. WB is undoubtedly hoping this is just the start of a good year for the franchise.
The release offered not only a glimpse at the upcoming sequel, but gave many moviegoers the chance to see the film on the big screen for the first time. Yes, it was released wide in 2021 but many viewers chose to stay home and watch it on HBO Max (now just called Max). Either way, the fact that a not-insignificant number of moviegoers showed up to watch a movie in theaters that they could easily watch from the comfort of home right now bodes well.
Is Dune: Part Two poised to break out at the box office?
"Dune: Part Two" will pick up where the previous movie left off. Presumably, those who enjoyed the first installment will be eager to return for more of Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya, not to mention some giant sandworms. The sequel has a lot going for it and feels very much like it could have major breakout potential, with the follow-up grossing more than its predecessor. Optimistically, this could be a "Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse" ($375 million worldwide) to "Across the Spider-Verse" ($690 million worldwide) situation.
That would be the most optimistic version of the movie's box office prospects. Frankly, theaters need the help and it would be a more than welcome boost to 2024 if the sequel can manage to outperform the original. That would also all but guarantee that Villeneuve gets the chance to make "Dune Messiah" and round out his trilogy. When this whole thing started, Warner Bros. believed that this could be a major sci-fi franchise. This re-release was another small step on the road to making that a reality.
"Dune: Part Two" hits theaters on March 1, 2024.