In 2023, two strikes hit Hollywood, preventing stars from promoting blockbusters, so Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures decided to postpone the release of «Dune: Part Two». The studios were afraid that without Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya in the promotional campaign, the sci-fi sequel would not live up to its box office potential on the date scheduled for November. Therefore, the premiere was postponed to March 1, 2024 (in Ukraine — February 29).
Judging by pre-sales and good critical acclaim, «Dune: Part Two» will gross at least $60-80 million during its US debut. It will be the first film to gross over $50 million since the thriller «Five Nights at Freddy’s*], released last October by Blumhouse, transmits Variety. Some believe that ticket sales for «Dune 2» may even approach the $90 million mark in its first weekend, although the film does not have to reach such heights to be considered a success.
The first film starring Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya and Jason Momoa grossed $41 million, including simultaneous screenings on HBO Max. It cost $165 million and grossed $402 million at the box office, one of the few financial victories of the studio’s hybrid strategy in the COVID era. The sequel cost $190 million, so analysts believe that it will pay off even if it repeats the results of the original «Dune».
In the time since moviegoers first traveled to the desert planet Arrakis, Chalamet has only cemented his star status with Warner’s fantasy musical Wonka, which has crossed the $600 million mark at the global box office, not least because of the actor.
The potential downside of the new release date? Cinemas have been mostly empty for weeks or even months, as there have been no big blockbusters for a long time. This can be a problem, because an effective advertising tactic is to show trailers before the movie. Since viewers didn’t go to local multiplexes in January or February, they didn’t see teasers and trailers for «Part Two». Of course, the studio has been promoting the film elsewhere, including running prime-time ads during recent NFL games.