Dune 2 passes 500 million dollars in revenue and already doubles the first part

This is a good sign for The Messiah of Dune, the third opus already teased by Denis Villeneuve.

This week-end, Dune – Part Two has doubled its predecessor at the American box office, and it was only a matter of days before he did the same in the world rankings. That's it, the $500 million mark in global revenue has been crossed, which is excellent news for all those who hope that Denis Villeneuve can produce a third opus in the saga, inspired by the Messiah of Duneby Frank Herbert.

Warner Bros. should logically quickly formalize this collaboration, because half a billion dollars raised in less than a month represents an excellent success. Especially for a work intended mainly for adults, denouncing the dangers hiding behind the figure of the hero.

Dune 2 received overallexcellent reviews, Denis Villeneuve being particularly praised for his grandiose staging. Its actors, all popular, also amazed the public, for example Rebecca Ferguson as the protagonist's mother, Zendaya as Chani or Austin Butler as his main adversary, Feyd-Rautha. They all participated in the intense promotion of the blockbuster, creating buzz on several occasions thanks to interviews without tongue in cheekan important defense cinema in theaters -shared in particular with Christopher Nolan-, without forgetting the more incongruous arguments of which Josh Brolin has the secret…

“Midsommar Hottie Eyes Wonka Obi Wan”: Josh Brolin's Hilarious Summary of Dune 2

In 2021, Dune had crossed the $400 million mark, and taking into account the scores from its release at the start of 2023, its cumulative total reached 430 million. It was therefore already a success, especially since the blockbuster also found its audience on VOD, DVD and during its first broadcasts on television, but we cannot speak of a full success either. Coming out at the heart of the global Covid-19 epidemic, Dune suffered the full force of the parallel release strategy in cinema and in streaming, on Max. Which logically limited its success in theaters.

Warner, however, took the gamble of continuing the adventure, and the whole team returned for the sequel, as well as some new additions appreciated by the public, from Léa Seydoux to Christopher Walker via Florence Pugh. Villeneuve was given a very substantial budget to shoot this sequel: around $190 million, not including its marketing costs.

This time, priority was given again to the big screen, and even to IMAX, following in the box ofOppenheimer in this format last summer. This new strategy worked, Dune 2 recording more than 70 million greenbacks in IMAX after 15 days in theaters.

After having woke up a box office at half mast since last December (the last global success was already a production from the same studio, carried by the same Timothée Chalamet, Wonkawith 600 million in global revenue), Dune 2 was able to maintain correct scores. Even if it quickly lost the top spot in the American rankings, overtaken by the family film Kung Fu Panda 4, its revenues are far from having plummeted. In the third weekend of domestic operation, for example, it only fell by 38%, and it quickly crossed 200 million dollars in revenue in the United States alone, which was not the case of his predecessor. On Monday, it reached 494 million on the planet, and yesterday, it passed the symbolic mark of 500 million.

In France too, it is a success: released here on February 28, Dune 2 has already attracted 2.3 million curious people in 994 rooms. A little less than three years ago, the first was seen by 3.1 million spectators, for a smaller distribution: 647 copies at the start, then 757 at the peak of its success.

The second part of Dune is still in theaters. Here is its trailer:

Dune 2: why the character of Chani (Zendaya) differs from the novel