Science fiction epic “Dune: Part Two” opened to a stellar box office performance over the weekend, raking in an impressive $81.5 million in its domestic debut—more than any other theatrical opening so far this year.
The latest project from visionary director Denis Villeneuve, adapting the latter half of Frank Herbert’s esoteric 1965 novel by the same name, also pulled an additional $97 million internationally, bringing the film’s total earnings to $178.5 million against a budget of $190 million.
As the first major box office hit of 2024, “Dune: Part Two” came as a welcome relief to a movie industry still struggling to recover from production delays stemming from a joint writer-actor strike last year, followed by unexpected flops since the start of the year.
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“This is just what the box office needed and much higher than any of us could predict,” said Jeff Goldstein, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures. “That’s especially true given that it’s a sci-fi movie, which is a genre that is a hard nut to crack. And we grossed $178.5 million worldwide, which is quite a standup.”
“We created a cultural moment, and it started with this extraordinary movie that Denis Villeneuve told in a really compelling way, and a cast has worked their butt off around the world for this movie,” he continued.
“Dune: Part Two” nearly doubled the opening weekend performance of the first installment in the series, which premiered to $41 million in October 2021. “Dune,” which featured a star-studded cast led by Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, and Oscar Isaac, went on to earn $434.8 million against a budget of $165 million. The movie was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, of which it won six, and audiences were eager for a follow-up.
Early reviews of the Spice-and-sandworms saga gave it a 93 percent critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, backed up by a 95 percent audience score after its release. This rating made it one of the best-performing sequels in box office history, putting it just behind “Toy Story 2” (1999) and “Paddington 2” (2017), and ahead of “The Godfather 2” (1974) and “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (2002).
63,000 reviews on IMDB have given it an average score of 9.0/10, putting it among the database’s highest-rated movies ever.
- The Shawshank Redemption – 9.3
- The Godfather – 9.2
- The Dark Knight – 9.0
- The Godfather Part 2 – 9.0
- 12 Angry Men – 9.0
- Schindler’s List – 9.0
- The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King – 9.0
- Dune: Part Two – 9.0
- Pulp Fiction – 8.9
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings – 8.9
Villeneuve has reportedly begun working on a treatment for “Dune Messiah,” the much anticipated final installment in the series to conclude the story of Paul Atreides and his galactic holy war.
No anticipated release date has been set for the third film—but it doesn’t take a dose of Spice to see a successful future for the project.
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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