Everything about Dune: Part Two has felt bigger; the anticipation, the size of the sandworms, and the amount of stars awarded by critics (read our ★★★★★ review here), yet the question remained as to whether that would translate into spice-level box-office returns. The answer is a resounding Bene Gesserit-style ‘YES!’, as Denis Villeneuve‘s big-budget sequel earned a whopping $81.5 million at the domestic box-office.
Doubling the pandemic-affected debut of 2021’s Dune, which opened with $41 million in a simultaneous streaming release strategy on HBO Max, Dune: Part Two blew conservative projections of $65 million out of the water with the largest opening of the year.
At the global box office, the Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya-headlined sequel added an impressive $97 million, for a much-needed worldwide cume of $178 million.
With Dune: Part Two proving to be especially popular for audiences wanting to watch Villeneuve‘s vistas in Imax and other premium large formats, experts predict that demand will mean cinemagoers are willing to wait until they can see it on the biggest screen possible. This should add even more legs to the blockbuster, which has a relatively free window at the box-office until Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire opens in three weeks time.
In second place this week was Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love, which added $7.4 million, taking its North American total to $82.7 million, and $146 million global.
Hilary Swank-led faith-based drama Ordinary Angels had its wings clipped in third, earning $3.8 million over the weekend, and in doing so taking its running total to a paltry $12 million.
And finally, Sydney Sweeney’s SNL opening monologue this past weekend included the line “you’ve definitely did not seen me in Madame Web, which was of course referring to another quiet weekend for the calamitous superhero movie, which earned $3.2 million, for a domestic total of $40 million, and a $91 million global tally.
Let us know whether you spent your spice in Arrakis this weekend, or if you opted for something other than sandworms by heading to our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Source – Box Office Mojo