Giant sandworms delivered Denis Villeneuve’s high-budget sequel to the top of the box office.
On the first weekend, «Dune: Part 2» earned $178.5 million — $97 million internationally and $81.5 million in the U.S., making it the highest-grossing weekend of the year in the country and the biggest since premiere of Taylor Swift’s concert movie last year and October, notes Variety.
On the eve of the premiere, Warner Bros. modestly estimated the opening box office in the United States at $65 million, while other forecasters was estimated at $80 million.
It is noted that in North America, the film was especially popular in Imax and other premium large formats — the director chose 70 mm film for the second «Dune», which provides greater detail and realism (by the way, the film was shot lenses made in Ukraine).
The first part of «Dunes» Denis Villeneuve won the award «Oscar-2022» і received as many as six statuettesThe film won awards for best editing, music, sound, visual effects and cinematography. The film’s total box office gross is $401.8 million.
The sequel cost $190 million to produce and another $100 million was spent on promotion (the film’s premiere was postponed due to strikes in Hollywood so that the actors could take part in the advertising afterwards). It is worth noting that initial ticket sales for «Dune 2» outperformed the original by 50%.
«Dune: Part Two» continues the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s cult sci-fi novel from director Denis Villeneuve. According to the synopsis, in the sequel, Paul Atreides teams up with Chani and the Fremen (a tribe of desert people in the Dune universe) to take revenge on the conspirators who destroyed his family. Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skashgård, Dave Batista, and Javier Bardem have all reprised their roles. Also, new characters are being introduced by Austin Butler (the villain Fade-Route Harkonnen), Florence Pugh (Princess Irulan) and Christopher Walken (Shaddam IV).
On Rotten Tomatoes «Dune: Part Two» currently has fairly high scores of — 93% from critics and 95% from audiences. Our review is available here:
Earlier, Denis Villeneuve said that the third part of «Dune» (which is currently being written) will be the final one, and Timothy Chalamet and Zendaya said that «interested» in continuing.
Meanwhile, the musical biopic «Bob Marley: One Love» reached $146 million at the global box office ($82.7 million in the U.S.), and Sony’s «Madame Web» about a clairvoyant paramedic and teenagers with superpowers, grossed a modest $91 million (against a budget of $80 million).