‘Dune 2’ is eyeing an $80 million plus opening weekend
Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya in Dune: Part 2.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. and Legendary Sand Dunes: Part Two He wasted no time in proving his potential box office potential.
Denis Villeneuve’s sequel — which is led by Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya — grossed $12 million in Thursday previews before officially opening everywhere across North America on Friday. That’s more than double its $5.1 million total in previews Sand dunes In 2021, though, this film was hampered by the pandemic and the decision to premiere simultaneously on HBO Max (now known as simply Max).
Overall, it’s the strongest preview since Barbie It grossed $22.3 million in July 2023. That same weekend, Oppenheimer It started with $10.5 million in previews on its way to an $82.5 million domestic debut (Barbie jumped to $162 million).
The preview gross includes $1 million raised from a previous Imax fan event, while the Imax screens generated a whopping $4.5 million from the preview gross.
Sand dunes 2 It will also debut in 71 overseas markets this weekend, and is also performing well in the markets where it opened midweek.
Suggest tracking heading into the weekend Sand dunes 2 It will launch domestically to $75 million. However, Warner remained more conservative in sticking with $65 million domestically and $75 million overseas. Based on previews and Friday morning business, rival box office monitors will have no problem opening their doors Oppenheimer province.
Some in Hollywood are even more optimistic in predicting that the two-hour, 46-minute sci-fi epic could gross even $90 million or $100 million domestically. However, a lot could happen between now and Sunday, with Warner insiders suggesting a range of $70 million to $75 million, which would still be a big win for the sci-fi genre.
After enduring one of the worst early winters in years (outside of the pandemic), theaters are counting on film to kick-start a steady stream of event fares delayed by labor strikes last year. Year-to-date, the box office is 18 percent behind last year, and more than 38 percent behind 2019.
Theaters weren’t too happy when Legendary decided to postpone the film’s release from last fall to now so that Chalamet and Zendaya could be available to promote the film and help expand the audience (they both have an influence on younger viewers), but they’ll certainly be forgiven. And forget then Sand dunes 2 It becomes a sensation of cold water.
The high-profile cast also includes series newcomers Austin Butler, Florence Pugh and Christopher Walken, joining Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista and Charlotte Rampling.
The long game, versus the opening weekend, will be the true test of Villeneuve’s sequel in terms of solidifying a new Legendary franchise. Villeneuve is keen to make another film, Dune: Christwhile Warners has a sub-series, Dune: ProphecyIt is scheduled to be released on Max later this year.
Sand dunes The film has grossed more than $402 million at the worldwide box office — a strong and promising number given the pressures of the pandemic and a day-and-date streaming release — but the filmmakers have much higher expectations for the follow-up.
March 1, 12:55 p.m.: Updated with revised weekend estimates.
