Dune 2 Passes Huge Box Office Milestone (With Plenty Of Spice Left In The Tank)
BY RYAN SCOTT/MARCH 20, 2024 3:00 PM EST
"Dune: Part Two," directed by Denis Villeneuve and released earlier this year, continues its streak at the box office by reaching another major landmark: crossing $500 Million worldwide since opening worldwide earlier in 2017. Already surpassing the first "Dune" globally when released earlier in 2018, Timothee Chalamet's return as Paul Atreides will likely add further success at box offices everywhere if everything runs as smoothly as anticipated.
"Dune: Part Two" by Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment has amassed $506.5 million worldwide as of Monday. Domestically on Monday alone it earned $2.8, taking top honors over "Kung Fu Panda 4," which had led for two weekends prior. Thus far the global total consists of $207.5 million domestically and $299 million internationally with major territories yet to open at only 38% decrease since last weekend - word-of-mouth being especially strong!
The sequel continues the epic journey of Paul Atreides from Frank Herbert's classic novel. Joined by Chani and Fremen on their quest for revenge against those responsible for destroying his family, Paul Atreides must choose between love of life or world as he looks ahead toward an unpleasant future that only he sees. Zendaya, Florence Pugh Rebecca Ferguson Javier Bardem Dave Bautista Josh Brolin Austin Butler Christopher Walken round off this powerful ensemble cast.
Dune is now a wildly successful franchise
Aside from very strong reviews (you can read /Film's official review right here), much of the success can be owed to the response to the first film, as well as the stacked cast that includes both rising and well-tested stars. For a movie based on challenging source material that asks a lot of the audience and was by no means a surefire bet out of the gate, it's hard to imagine things working out better for all involved. This truly feels like a best-case scenario.
Even if the movie didn't make another dime, $500 million worldwide against a $190 million budget is good enough to eventually get the film into profits. More than that, it's also probably going to secure some Oscar nominations next year, which will only make it more of a win for both WB and Legendary. At this point, it's all but assured that the movie will top $600 million worldwide. That means Chalamet will have two $600 million hits to his name in just a few months, as "Wonka" also surpassed that in ticket sales several weeks back. He's an unquestioned A-lister.
The first film topped out at just over $400 million in its original run, with a recent re-release to hype up the sequel taking in north of $30 million worldwide. That speaks volumes about how the audience has only grown since the first entry hit theaters and HBO Max simultaneously in 2021, and it also bodes well for those who want to see Villeneuve return to make "Dune Messiah" in a few years.