Dune: Part II confirmed its blockbuster status. © Warner Bros. Pictures
Tidal wave of sand in the dark rooms. Expected to be THE blockbuster of the year, Dune: Part Two has not lived up to its reputation and is off to a great start at the American and global box office, even exceeding analysts’ forecasts. We take stock.
The supremacy of Dune
With 178.5 million dollars earned worldwide for its launch, Denis Villeneuve’s film is indeed the success hoped for. In detail, this “Dune 2” collects 97 million dollars internationally – well helped by the French public (9.6 million), German (9.1 million) and British (11.8 million) – and above all 81.5 million on American soil.
This American result is therefore slightly higher than the estimates of experts, who cautiously expected the film to be around 70-75 million. Predictions which had nevertheless been revised upwards in recent weeks. Note that premium formats (IMAX, Dolby, etc.) represent a colossal 48% of the total.
This first weekend is (obviously) a record for the young year 2024, but is above all above the comparable John Wick 4 (73 million) and similar to that ofOppenheimer (82.4 million), who ended his career close to a billion dollars. Promising.
Dune 2 totaled nearly 180 million worldwide for its start. © Warner Bros. Pictures
If it is obviously a success, which confirms a new franchise for Warner Bros. and the bankable status of Timothée Chalamet after Wonkathis American score still remains far from the cards Guardians of the Galaxy 3 (118 million in first weekend), barbie (155 million) and Super Mario Bros. (146 million) from last year. The saga Dune still has a way to go to be a sure bet in theaters… but it’s getting there.
Dune: Part Two thus doubles the start of the first film (41 million), released in 2021 just after the pandemic and which ended its career at 402 million worldwide. At this rate, and given the critical and public enthusiasm, this sequel has everything to hold up very well in the coming weeks, and aim for the heights at the end of the race… with the billion on the horizon?
Timothée Chalamet confirms his status as a franchise star. © Warner Bros. Pictures
In the rest of the box office, the competition shares the crumbs. Bob Marley: One Love still rakes in $7.4 million for its 3rd weekend, and should exceed the 100 million mark on American soil in the coming weeks. Madame Web confirms its failure, with only 40 million gleaned in 2 weeks. Sony’s Marvel movie hasn’t even reached $100 million worldwide yet.
US box office March 1-3, 2024 (estimates)
| MOVIE | WEEKEND | CUMULATIVE UNITED STATES | WORLD CUMULATION | WEEK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dune: Part Two | $81,500,000 | $81,500,000 | $178,500,000 | 1 |
| 2 | Bob Marley: One Love | $7,430,000 | $82,771,080 | $146,071,080 | 3 |
| 3 | Ordinary Angels | $3,850,000 | $12,561,122 | $12,561,122 | 2 |
| 4 | Madame Web | $3,200,000 | $40,441,516 | $91,041,516 | 3 |
| 5 | The Chosen S4 episodes 7-8 | $3,154,905 | $3,915,535 | $3,915,535 | 1 |