After more than a month of poor box office numbers, a drought-busting March has finally arrived for theaters, starting with Denis Villeneuve’s critically praised and highly anticipated “Dune: Part Two.”
In October 2021, amidst the uncertainty of the COVID-19 box office recovery period, “Dune: Part One” earned an opening weekend of $41 million. Now, “Part Two” is expected to do even better, with distributor Warner Bros. conservatively projecting $65 million while rival distributors predict an opening of $75 million or higher.
It’s a remarkable achievement for Warner Bros., production partner Legendary, and especially for Denis Villeneuve. A classic sci-fi novel notorious for being extremely difficult to adapt as a movie is set to become the biggest box office success for a filmmaker whose critical acclaim hadn’t translated into mass audience success the way it has for the likes of Christopher Nolan or Jordan Peele.