“Dune: Part Two” is soaring to the top of the box office rankings thanks to those enormous sandworms.

The big-budget follow-up from director Denis Villeneuve has made $81.5 million in its domestic premiere and given beleaguered movie theaters a much-needed boost. The opening weekend is the biggest of the year and the biggest since Taylor Swift’s $93 million concert film “The Eras Tour” in October of last year.

David A. Gross of the film consulting company Franchise Entertainment Research adds, “This is an amazing opening for a science-fiction [sequel].” “Audiences are relating to these vulnerable, human characters.”

“Dune 2” appears to have exceeded expectations and gained a wider audience beyond science fiction enthusiasts, as seen by its favorable reviews and strong word-of-mouth (it now has a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an “A” Cinema Score). Despite the fact that most box office forecasters anticipated that earnings would above $80 million, Warner Bros., the production company behind the film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s groundbreaking 1965 novel, cautiously estimated a $65 million start this weekend.

The gigantic global total of $178 million was boosted by the sequel’s $97 million at the foreign box office.

Producer of “Dune,” Mary Parent, claims that it has “really permeated the culture.” “There are all the signs of a long play.”

Similar to the first movie, “Dune: Part Two” is particularly well-liked in Imax and other high-end big formats. A staggering 48% of the movie’s domestic box office receipts came from PLFs, as they are referred to in the business.

In the meantime, 18.5 million tickets were sold by Imax, accounting for 23% of the market. Some daring moviegoers have resorted to 3:15 a.m. showtimes due to the overwhelming demand to see on 70mm film, the director’s preferred format. (That is, in the morning.)
“Our most iconic film locations are almost completely booked for weeks in advance,” explains Rich Gelfond, CEO of Imax.

With appeal for the more expensive PLF displays, “Part Two” appears to have what it takes to make its costly return to the desert planet Arrakis worthwhile. The movie, which Legendary Entertainment co-financed and co-produced, cost $190 million to make and an additional $100 million to market to audiences around the world.

The original “Dune,” which debuted in 2021 to $41 million and debuted concurrently on HBO Max, has not been surpassed in terms of initial ticket sales for the sequel. One of the few commercial successes from the studio’s pandemic-era hybrid release plan was “Part One,” which concluded its run with $402 million worldwide.

Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, and the rest of the buzzy ensemble were unable to promote the film, so the follow-up, which was initially scheduled to open in theaters this autumn, was pushed back to spring due to the actors’ strike. As there hasn’t been a blockbuster in weeks, pent-up demand for the second “Dune” helped it debut on its modified date.

After Warner’s fantasy musical “Wonka,” Chalamet’s opening weekend sales for “Dune 2” seem to validate his status as that most uncommon of animals: a financially secure leading man. Aside from Christopher Nolan, Villeneuve may be positioned as the director most capable of producing intelligent big-screen spectacles that are appealing to a broad audience due to the overabundance of commercial results.

As “Dune: Part Two” occupied most of the space at multiplexes, other films in theaters competed for remaining screen time. “Bob Marley: One Love,” a musical biopic from Paramount, came in a distant second place with $7.4 million from 3,390 cinemas. Starring Kingsley Ben-Adir as the legendary musician, the movie has made $82.7 million in North America and $146 million worldwide at the box office, surprising everyone.

“Ordinary Angels,” starring Hilary Swank, is an uplifting drama that came in third place with $3.8 million from 3,020 locations. The Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company film has only made $12 million in its two weeks on the big screen. But “Ordinary Angels” is said to have a low double-digit budget, which might assist to make up for these dismal box office results.

“Madame Web” continued to falter at number four, earning $3.2 million from 3,116 theaters. Dakota Johnson plays a psychic paramedic in Sony’s “Spider-Man” spin-off, which cost $80 million and has only made a pitiful $40 million domestically and $50 million worldwide so far.

“The Chosen,” a television program with a religious theme, completed the top five with $3.1 million from 2,215 venues. This weekend’s showing of Episodes 7 and 8 of Season 4 of the program, which is being exclusively released in theaters for two weeks, was brought to you by Fathom Events. The $3.5 million earned by episodes four through six was somewhat offset by lower ticket sales. From Episodes 1 through 3, which brought in $6 million at launch and $14 million over the course of their run, they saw a sharp fall.

Domestic box office receipts were 20% lower before this past weekend than they were over the same time in 2023. However, ComScore reports that once “Dune 2” was released, the difference decreased to 13.5%.

Senior ComScore analyst Paul Dergarabedian remarks, “What a difference a weekend makes.” Optimal timing is preferable to optimal timing.

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