Dune Box Office Opening On Track To Be Career Best For Denis Villeneuve

Denis Villeneuve is on track to have his best career opening weekend with Dune‘s box office. As one of the most anticipated movies of 2021, sci-fi fans have long been excited to see Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s acclaimed novel. Dune stars Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, a member of the powerful House Atreides who learns about his place in the galaxy amid a war over the spice located on Arrakis. The movie also features a great collection of actors around Chalamet, including Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, and Zendaya.

With a lot of star power attached to Dune, fans have continued to wonder how big of a hit the movie will be for Warner Bros. Some of this interest comes from the desire to see a sequel after Villeneuve decided to split Herbert’s original novel in half. While Dune already had one failed movie from David Lynch, projections for Villeneuve’s movie remained optimistic. Early projections for its box office had it opening in the low $30 million range, but Dune managed to earn more than The Suicide Squad in Thursday night previews. This looked to be a good sign for a stronger opening weekend than previously imagined.

In Dune‘s first full day in theaters domestically, the movie earned $17.5M and has raised box office projections to a career-best for director Denis Villeneuve. The Wrap reports industry estimates expect Dune to make $39M during its opening weekend now, while Warner Bros.’ projections are a bit more cautious with $33M. Either figure would still be enough for Dune to surpass Blade Runner 2049 and become the biggest opening weekend for Denis Villeneuve. Blade Runner 2049 made $32.8M in its opening weekend back in 2017, so Dune will need to keep up its strong start to top the Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling-led sci-fi sequel.

The strong start for Dune domestically is another great sign for the film’s box office performance. Although the movie is just now opening in the United States, it has been out in international markets for a bit longer. Dune already has earned more than $100M internationally and will have a global total north of $150M by the time the weekend is over. It still has a bit to go before it surpasses Blade Runner 2049‘s $258M lifetime gross to become Villeneuve’s biggest movie. However, the epic scope, star-studded cast, and great reviews should help Dune hit that mark.

Not only is Dune‘s opening weekend likely to be a career-best for Villeneuve, but it also is a great sign for the prospects of Dune 2 happening. It’s also important to remember that the film is currently available on HBO Max, so strong viewership numbers on the streaming service would give Warner Bros. even more confidence in continuing this story. As long as Dune keeps up its strong start, hopefully it won’t be long before Dune 2 is officially announced.

Source: The Wrap

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Cooper Hood
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Cooper Hood is a news and feature writer for Screen Rant. He joined Screen Rant in late 2016 following a year-long stint with MCU Exchange, which came after first developing an MCU blog of his own. He graduated college in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Media & Public Communication, with a minor in Media Production. Cooper’s love for movies began by watching Toy Story and Lion King on repeat as a child, but it wasn’t until The Avengers that he took an invested interest in movies and the filmmaking process, leading him to discover the world of film journalism. Every year Cooper looks forward to seeing the latest blockbusters from the likes of Marvel, DC, and Star Wars, but also loves the rush to catch up on Oscar films near the end of the year. When he isn’t writing about or watching new releases, Cooper is a fantasy football obsessive and looking to expand his Blu-Ray collection – because physical media is still king! Follow Cooper on Twitter @MovieCooper.

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