Who said the theatrical movie industry is hurting? Dune: Part Two, the highly anticipated sequel to the Warner Bros. tentpole, did not get the memo, as it is approaching $500 million, already eclipsing the first film.
Variety reports the science-fiction epic, directed by Denis Villeneuve, just hit $494.7 million worldwide. The monster haul includes $208 million from North America and about $289 million internationally. Dune: Part Two is expected to exceed $500 million by Monday. This also matters since only a handful of films hit the half-billion mark post-pandemic. The sequel is already the highest-grossing film in 2024 at the worldwide box office, but it’s still early in the year.
So get this: Dune: Part Two has only been in theaters for ten days but has already doubled the total domestic earnings of the first film, which earned $108 million. Now there’s an asterisk: the original film back in 2021 was released in theaters and on HBO Max, which arguably affected ticket sales in that scenario.
Here’s the breakdown of ticket sales performance outside of the U.S. and Canada:
China ($36 million)
U.K. ($32.8 million)
Germany ($25 million)
France ($24.9 million)
Australia ($15.6 million).
Much of the marketing is word-of-mouth, and there’s been interest in formats outside of standard screenings, where Dune: Part Two has made over $100 million from Imax theaters.
The sequel is based on the seminal 1965 Frank Herbert novel Dune, which continues the story of Dune. Cinematically, it follows, as Variety reports, “the mythic quest of Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides, who seeks safety in the desert after powerful royals betray his family. Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, and Christopher Walken join the sprawling cast of Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, and Stellan Skarsgård.”
Dune: Part Two was co-produced and co-financed by Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment for $190 million, with an expected $100 million to market around the world.
