Dune: Part Two completely took over the box office; and did so while surpassing the first movie’s box office at the same time.
Return To Arakkis
Dune: Part Two certainly performed beyond expectations this weekend. As per Box Office Mojo, the movie was in first place with $81.5 million. Projections were gravitating towards $60 million to $80 million. This is nearly twice as much as the previous film’s $41 million opening. However, that film also opened day and date both theatrically and on HBO Max.
Early fan IMAX screenings and strong positive buzz from critics likely attributed to the film’s overwhelming success. The success comes as a welcome reprieve for movie theatres; which have struggled for months in the absence of Dune: Part 2 and other blockbusters in attracting people to theatres. The film was originally set to release last fall but was delayed to spring due to the actors’ strike. This delay seemed only to create more excitement among fans who showed up in droves.
IMAX theatres did well; with nearly 19% of the box office coming from IMAX and other premium large-format screens. Many IMAX theatres are sold out of the film for weeks; with many fans resorting to extremely late/early screenings just to get their fix. Denis Villeneuve made a point to recommend the movie in 70mm IMAX; and the fans have certainly taken that to heart.
The rest of the box office saw steady drops. Bob Marley: One Love was in second place with $7.4 million. Ordinary Angels stayed in third place with $3.8 million. Madame Web maintained its fourth-place spot with #3.2 million. Finally The Chosen: S4 Episodes 7-8 debuted in fifth place with $3.1 million.
Next Weekend’s Box Office
Next weekend’s major release is Kung Fu Panda 4. The movie is projected to bring in $30 to $34 million. Considering there isn’t much for children at the box office it faces no real competition and might even exceed its projected amount but that will be dependent on any walk-in business that the movie does.
With the film being sold out in IMAX for weeks, I don’t see Dune: Part 2 going anywhere. It’ll likely see a drop-off but even with a 40% drop-off, which I think is realistic for the movie, it would still outperform Kung Fu Panda 4 and remain in the top spot.
As always we’ll find out next week!
For more on Movie News, check back to That Hashtag Show.
