Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Two went on general release yesterday, and is off to a very strong start with a $32.2 million Friday (including Thursday previews). The movie is now on track for a very impressive $75M - $80M three-day opening weekend domestically.
The sci-fi sequel has also been performing well overseas, and box office analysts believe it should hit that projected $180M - $200M global opening.
The critical and audience reception for Part Two has also been stronger than its predecessor, with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 94% critics and 95% audience to go with an A CinemaScore. By comparison, the first film earned RT scores of 83% critics and 90% audience, along with an A- CinemaScore grade.
This means that Part Two should easily surpass the $433 million global theatrical run of the first movie, and the only (potential) competition on the horizon will come from next week's Kung-Fun Panda 4 and horror flick Imaginary.
Do you plan on seeing Dune: Part Two this weekend? Drop us a comment down below.
"Those hoping for blockbuster escapism might find themselves shook by this faithful, at times borderline depressing adaptation," we said in our review. "But Dune Part Two is Sci-fi spectacle at its finest and most audacious, as Villeneuve builds-upon and possibly surpasses (opinions will vary) his previous film with aplomb."
The saga continues as award-winning filmmaker Denis Villeneuve embarks on Dune: Part Two, the next chapter of Frank Herbert’s celebrated novel Dune, with an expanded all-star international ensemble cast. The film, from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, is the highly anticipated follow-up to 2021’s six-time Academy Award-winning Dune.
The big-screen epic continues the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s acclaimed bestseller Dune with returning and new stars, including Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (Wonka, Call Me by Your Name), Zendaya (Spider-Man: No Way Home, Malcolm & Marie, Euphoria), Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning), Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (Avengers: Endgame, Milk), Oscar nominee Austin Butler (Elvis, Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood), Oscar nominee Florence Pugh (Black Widow, Little Women), Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: Love and Thunder), Oscar winner Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter,), Stephen McKinley Henderson (Fences), Léa Seydoux (James Bond, Crimes of the Future), with Stellan Skarsgård (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (45 Years, Assassin’s Creed), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Being the Ricardos).
Dune: Part Two will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.