“Dune: Part Two” has set a record for box office, approaching the revenue of the first part in just 11 days
The second installment of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune added $81 million from 72 international markets in its second week of release, bringing its total foreign box office to $210.5 million. Combined with the considerable earnings at the domestic box office ($157 million), Dune: Part Two grossed $367.5 million in 11 days, just $66.4 million less than the first part earned in total.
Over the weekend, the film debuted in China with 142.1 million yuan ($20 million), the largest Hollywood premiere in the country in 2024 (for Timothée Chalamet and Villeneuve, the largest ever), Deadline notes. The Chinese IMAX network earned 33% of the total amount – $6.5 million (the director chose 70 mm film for the second Dune, which provides greater detail and realism – by the way, the film was shot with Ukrainian-made lenses).
The overall results of the second Dune launch in China were roughly the same as Dune 2021, and higher than Batman with Robert Pattinson (+95%), Blade Runner 2049 (+183%), The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” (+330%) and “Indiana Jones and the Heirloom of Destiny” (+772%).
The top 5 markets for the film today include the UK ($24.8 million), China ($20 million), France ($19.4 million), Germany ($18.2 million) and Australia ($11.6 million). Japan will release the movie next Friday.
In Ukraine, Dune: Part Two” showed the best start in the history of Warner Bros. since the beginning of the war – UAH 32.6 million for the first weekend. The film also became one of the three most successful launches of the studio’s films in Ukraine in its history, behind only Dune in 2021 with UAH 34.3 million and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” in 2018 with UAH 39.2 million.
- The first part of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune won the Oscar 2022 and received as many as six statuettes, including awards for Best Editing, Music, Sound, Visual Effects and Cinematography (the film’s total box office gross is $401.8 million). The production of the second part cost $190 million, and another $100 million was spent on promotion (the film’s premiere was postponed due to strikes in Hollywood so that the actors could take part in the advertising afterwards). It is worth noting that the initial ticket sales for Dune 2 also surpassed the first one by 50%.
- “Dune: Part Two” continues the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s cult science fiction novel by director Denis Villeneuve. According to the synopsis, in the sequel, Paul Atreides teams up with Chani and the Fremen (a tribe of desert people in the Dune universe) to take revenge on the conspirators who destroyed his family. Timothy Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skashgård, Dave Batista and Javier Bardem have returned to their roles. Also, new characters appear, played by Austin Butler (the villain Fade-Route Harkonnen), Florence Pugh (Princess Irulan) and Christopher Walken (Shaddam IV).
- On Rotten Tomatoes, Dune: Part Two” currently has quite high ratings – 93% from critics and 95% from the audience.
