LOS ANGELES – Dune: Part Two, the new instalment in a sprawling film series based on the sci-fi story by American author Frank Herbert, opened with weekend ticket sales of US$81.5 million (S$109 million) in American and Canadian cinemas, delivering the best debut in 2024.
Researchers at Box Office Pro, owned by a theatre industry trade group, were forecasting sales of about US$80.9 million. Warner Bros Discovery, which released the film in partnership with Legendary Entertainment, was predicting a more conservative US$65 million.
Advance ticket sales ran far ahead of the original, which would go on to gross more than US$400 million worldwide, Box Office Pro said. Some fans packed cinemas at 3am just to get good seats at a 70mm Imax screening.
“We’re thrilled with these results, and I really want to know who’s going to those 3am screenings,” Mr Jeff Goldstein, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros Pictures, said. “It’s clear we’re having a cultural moment globally.”
The opening is the biggest since Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour brought in US$93.2 million in October 2023. It is also the biggest opening of the year after a slow start for the box office, with North American ticket sales down 18 per cent for the year to Feb 25.
Now showing in Singapore cinemas, Dune: Part Two was helped by raves from critics, with 94 per cent recommending the picture, according to Rotten Tomatoes, a website that aggregates reviews. No movie released in 2024 has exceeded US$50 million in a North American debut.
“Strong early reviews, an aggressive marketing campaign against weak competition and the expected skew towards premium large-screen formats (like Imax) lifting average ticket prices are positives,” Bloomberg Intelligence said in a research note. “On the other hand, the film’s two hour, 46-minute runtime means fewer screenings.”
Close to half of ticket sales were for larger formats such as Imax and Dolby.
“All the data we’re seeing indicates that this film will have a long, successful run in Imax,” Imax chief executive Rich Gelfond said by e-mail.
The new Dune is the second in what director Denis Villeneuve intends to be a trilogy. It features American-French actor Timothee Chalamet returning in the starring role of Paul Atreides, an aristocrat on a desert planet, and American actress Zendaya as Chani, his partner. The pair seek revenge against those who destroyed his family.
The first picture premiered in 2021 in cinemas and on the HBO Max streaming platform simultaneously, while Hollywood was still coping with the Covid-19 pandemic. BLOOMBERG
