After a two-month drought, “Dune: Part Two” has delivered a much-welcomed deluge of ticket sales to the domestic box office — and its success could bring a third franchise film to cinemas.
The Warner Bros.
and Legendary Entertainment film opened with an estimated $81.5 million at the box office, the highest of any film released so far in 2024.
“Like an oasis in the desert, ‘Dune: Part Two’ is a sight for sore eyes across theatrical exhibition and all of Hollywood,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com.
Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic, the second in the Dune franchise, was buoyed by IMAX
ticket sales, which represented around 23% of domestic ticket sales, or $18.5 million.
“The only reason it wasn’t higher is we ran out of seats,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX.
Gelfond noted that presales of the film were “really impressive” and that in many locations, tickets for IMAX screenings aren’t available until three weeks out.
“The lesson is that if you take a beautiful visual experience, a good story and you put it in the hands of a brilliant filmmaker with an IMAX camera, you’re going to get very good results,” Gelfond said.