Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures today announced that the Dune box office has surpassed the $300 million mark, with Monday’s numbers in North America topping more than $71 million and more than $228 million from overseas and counting.
A succession of impressive first place openings, coupled with strong word of mouth, had anticipation for the film increasing exponentially as the film rolled out around the globe. The epic action adventure, based on the seminal Frank Herbert novel, kicked off the fall season to great fanfare at the Venice and Toronto film festivals before beginning its theatrical play mid-September.
Jeff Goldstein, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Domestic Distribution, said the following about the Dune box office results, “We are so thrilled that this one-of-a-kind cinematic experience has movie lovers, as well as lifelong fans of the book like Denis Villeneuve himself, eager to see ‘Dune’ as he envisioned it: on the biggest possible screen.
“These terrific numbers, coupled with A- CinemaScore and a Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, show the film delivers and that audiences are going back for multiple viewings.”
Andrew Cripps, President, Warner Bros. Pictures International Distribution, stated, “From our first international opening in September, we could see that ‘Dune’ was both a critical and crowd pleaser.
“The numbers have continued to bear that out as each market has opened and we look forward to a healthy theatrical play, with Australia and New Zealand yet to come as we head into the holidays.”
Academy Award nominee Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049) directs Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ Dune, the big-screen adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal bestseller of the same name.
A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
The film stars Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Oscar nominee Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Zendaya.
The cast also includes Chang Chen, David Dastmalchian, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling, with Jason Momoa, and Oscar winner Javier Bardem.
Villeneuve directed from a screenplay by Jon Spaihts and Villeneuve and Oscar winner Eric Roth (Forrest Gump) based on the novel of the same name written by Frank Herbert.
Oscar nominee Mary Parent, Villeneuve, Cale Boyter and Joe Caracciolo Jr. produced the film. The executive producers were Tanya Lapointe, Joshua Grode, Herbert W. Gains, Jon Spaihts, Thomas Tull, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt and Kim Herbert.
Behind the scenes, Villeneuve assembled an all-star lineup of Academy Award-winning and nominated artisans, reteaming with two-time Oscar-nominated production designer Patrice Vermette, two-time Oscar-nominated editor Joe Walker, two-time Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Paul Lambert, Oscar-winning special effects supervisor Gerd Nefzer, makeup and hair designer/makeup department head Donald Mowat; Oscar-winning supervising sound editor Mark Mangini and Oscar-nominated supervising sound editor Theo Green; and Oscar-winning re-recording mixer Doug Hemphill and two-time Oscar-nominated re-cording mixer Ron Bartlett.
He also collaborated for the first time with Oscar-nominated director of photography Greig Fraser; three-time Oscar-nominated costume designer Jacqueline West and costume designer Robert Morgan; and stunt coordinator Tom Struthers. Oscar-winning and multiple Oscar-nominated composer Hans Zimmer created the score.
Dune is in select theaters in 2D and 3D and IMAX around the world; it will be available in the U.S. on HBO Max’s Ad-Free plan in 4K UHD, HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos (English Only) on supported devices for 31 days from U.S. theatrical release.
The film has been rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, some disturbing images and suggestive material. Dune Part Two will open in theaters on October 20, 2023.
