Dune 2 brings spice power to the box office with $81.5 million debut

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Movie theaters had been on the lookout for a messiah and Dune: Part Two is delivering on the promise. Armed with sandworms, huge display screen spectacle, and the star power of Timothée Chalamet, Denis Villeneuve ’s science fiction epic stormed the North American box office this weekend incomes $81.5 million (£64 million) in ticket gross sales, in accordance to studio estimates Sunday.

It’s the first main hit of 2024, and one which was sorely wanted by exhibitors. Although there have been holdovers from December which have continued to earn, like Warner Bros‘ Wonka (additionally starring Chalamet) and Sony’s romantic comedy Anyone But You, the box office is in a little bit of a drought. In the first two months of 2024, no movies have crossed $100 million domestically. The highest incomes films have been The Beekeeper, Bob Marley: One Love and Mean Girls.

(*2*)Dune 2 rode a wave of nice opinions (94% on Rotten Tomatoes) right into a market that was primarily freed from competitors. Warner Bros. launched it in 4,071 places in the US and Canada, the place audiences throughout the board gave it the highest PostTrak marks and an A CinemaScore. According to exit information, males accounted for 59% of opening weekend ticket patrons and 64% had been over the age of 25. The sequel was primarily financed by Legendary.

Premium giant format screens like IMAX and 70mm accounted for 48% of the opening weekend enterprise. It marked a March report for IMAX, which made up $18.5 million of the general take. The $81.5 million debut is a report for Villeneuve, Chalamet, Austin Butler and Rebecca Ferguson.

Originally deliberate for an October 2023 launch, Warner Bros bumped the film to March amid the Hollywood strikes that will have prevented its starry solid from doing the promotional circuit. The international promo tour has been on hyperdrive for a couple of month, driving conversations with buzzy interviews, the viral sandworm-inspired popcorn bucket and eye-popping vogue moments from the trendy younger solid – peaking with Zendaya’s silver cyborg showstopper (classic Mugler) in London. They’ve made stops in Mexico City, South Korea, Abu Dhabi and New York City.

The first Dune opened below sophisticated situations in October 2021. It was one in every of the final movies of Warner Bros’ divisive plan to concurrently debut its main films in theaters and on its streaming platform. And but it nonetheless earned over $40 million in its first weekend and went on to gross over $400 million worldwide.