All signs were pointing to "Dune: Part 2," Denis Villeneuve's film starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, being one of the films of the year, and it has exceeded expectations. It arrived in theaters last Friday, and since then, audiences have flocked to see how Paul Atreides' story continued on Arrakis.
The movie has become the highest-grossing premiere of the year, earning more than $178 million worldwide, according to data provided by Box Office Mojo. Specifically, the report reveals, in the United States, the film managed to earn $81.5 million, 45.7% of the worldwide total. In the rest of the world, the figure stood at $97 million after Sunday.
"Dune: Part 2" becomes the most successful premiere since "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" last October, when the film Swift's concert in Los Angeles managed to earn $180 million dollars worldwide in its first three days on the big screen.
'Dune: Part 2,' the highest-grossing film of 2024?
The sequel to the science fiction film achieved just less than its total production budget: $190 million. It is a very promising box office result, according to what the director of the film consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, David A. Gross, told Variety: "This is an outstanding opening for a science-fiction [sequel]. Audiences are connecting with these human, vulnerable [characters]."
The figure will also continue to increase and, therefore, place Denis Villeneuve's film as one of the highest-grossing films of 2024. According to the film's producer Mary Parent, this could be due to the great reception by audiences: "It’s really permeated the culture. All signs point toward a long play."
Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution, Jeff Goldstein, agrees with these words. He assured that the public is flocking to the cinema to see "Dune: Part 2," which could make the feature film the most successful film of this year:
Audiences are responding to the combination of Denis Villeneuve’s ability to tell a story in an extraordinary way and the extraordinary cast. This is a moment for Timothée Chalamet.
