World Courant
Sandworms present up on the desert planet Arrakis in Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Half Two.”
Warner Bros. | Legendary leisure
After a two-month drought, “Dune: Half Two” has delivered a much-welcomed flood of ticket gross sales on the home field workplace — and its success may deliver a 3rd franchise movie to theaters.
The Warner Bros. and Legendary Leisure movie opened with an estimated $81.5 million on the field workplace, the very best of any movie launched up to now in 2024.
“Like an oasis within the desert, ‘Dune: Half Two’ is a sight to behold in theaters and throughout Hollywood,” mentioned Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com.
Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic, the second within the Dune franchise, was backed by IMAX ticket gross sales, which represented roughly 23% of home ticket gross sales, or $18.5 million.
“The one motive it wasn’t larger is as a result of we ran out of seats,” mentioned IMAX CEO Wealthy Gelfond.
Gelfond famous that the movie’s pre-sales have been “actually spectacular” and that in lots of places tickets for IMAX screenings will not be out there for an additional three weeks.
“The lesson is that should you put an exquisite visible expertise and a very good story within the palms of a superb filmmaker with an IMAX digital camera, you’ll get superb outcomes,” Gelfond mentioned.
Notably, the whole lot of “Dune: Half Two” was filmed utilizing IMAX digital cameras.
Expectations from studio executives, theater homeowners and field workplace analysts are that the movie could have an extended tail in theaters and proceed to generate sturdy ticket gross sales within the coming weeks. The identical, Gelfond mentioned Common “Oppenheimer” and Disneys “Avatar: The Manner of Water.”
Internationally, the movie is anticipated to gross $97 million, bringing its worldwide gross to $178.5 million. IMAX represented 18% of all worldwide ticket gross sales, the corporate mentioned. The movie debuts in China on March 8.
“I believe it is a film the place you realize the phrase of mouth will carry it,” Legendary Leisure CEO Josh Grode instructed CNBC. “It is an incredible piece of filmmaking. There is not any different solution to put it. I am working out of adjectives.”
Grode didn’t deny rumors of a attainable third movie within the franchise, noting, “We have to get all inventive stakeholders aligned and supportive of the imaginative and prescient.”
“I believe everybody may be very excited and actually having fun with this second. If Denis (Villeneuve) will get the script proper and he thinks he can ship one other expertise just like what we simply accomplished, then I do not see why not,” he mentioned.
Timothee Chalamet stars as Paul Atreides in Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune: Half Two’.
Warner Bros. | Legendary leisure
The sturdy opening for “Dune: Half Two” comes after the movie was faraway from the 2023 film calendar as twin labor strikes in Hollywood made it not possible for solid members to publicly promote the movie.
Grode famous that Legendary Leisure struggled with the choice to maneuver the movie from its November slot and to a brand new date in March. Nevertheless, he felt that with out a advertising and marketing marketing campaign “that matched the movie”, the movie won’t attain as many moviegoers.
“Hindsight is at all times 2020, however I believe this might completely be the best resolution,” he mentioned.
The movie’s solid has been closely selling the movie for weeks, taking part in junkets, video interviews and showing on late-night reveals. Even the celebs’ premiere outfits made headlines, elevating consciousness of the movie’s launch.
Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya attend the world premiere of “Dune: Half Two” at Leicester Sq. in London, England, on February 15, 2024.
Gareth Cattermole | Getty Photos Leisure | Getty Photos
Along with trade veterans like Christopher Walken, Stellan Skarsgard, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and Dave Bautista, “Dune: Half Two” options 4 of the largest younger stars in Hollywood: Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh and Austin Butler.
Heading into the weekend, the home field workplace had achieved lower than $900 million in ticket gross sales by the primary two months of the yr, down practically 18% from the identical interval in 2023, in response to Comscore knowledge. A surge early within the yr could possibly be essential for a field workplace nonetheless struggling to regain $10 billion in home annual ticket gross sales, a determine final seen earlier than the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In each field workplace yr there’s a turning level and in 2024 the debut ‘Dune: Half Two’ represents a milestone in a yr with out blockbuster choices,” mentioned Paul Degarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “The field workplace yr of ’24 formally began this weekend two months late and never a second too early and can assist construct much-needed momentum for cinemas for March and past.”
Disclosure: Comcast is the mum or dad firm of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal distributed “Oppenheimer.”
Field workplace opening of Half Two sparks curiosity in ‘Half Three’
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