Mastermind filmmaker Denis Villeneuve surpassed absolutely all expectations that fans had of him by helming the Dune film series. It was made so immaculately that it turned into a mammoth-like distinctly successful franchise.
And yet, such tremendous success — especially at the global box offices — of the second installment of his book-based film series, seems to have rubbed the director the wrong way.
This comes after Villeneuve himself expressed his disappointment and one major regret about his Timothée Chalamet-starrer sequel to the 2021 masterpiece. Although, the movie has already conquered the box office with a remarkable victory that is yet to be surpassed by other projects this year.
But as unbelievable as it all may seem, the reason behind his regret and disappointment is actually only valid.
Denis Villeneuve is ‘Disappointed’ with Dune 2’s Box Office Triumph
Nearly three years after the first film, the Canadian filmmaker delivered the much-awaited Dune: Part Two as well, only to be met with exceptional acclaim that outperformed even the first movie in the film series — both with its reviews and box office performance.
While it topped the chart with a stunning 92% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, it also managed to score a whopping $711 million from global box offices on its production budget of $190 million (as per The Numbers).
However, when it comes to the director, he is actually disappointed to see his film perform so epically. At the recently held Canadian Screen Awards 2024 in Toronto, where he was honored with the Academy Icon Award, Denis Villeneuve expressed the same while talking to reporters.
According to Yahoo! News, while talking about Part Two, he said:
I’m disappointed to still be number one. … I hope soon that there will be other successes at the box office. I hope, sooner or later, that this summer box office will be much better.
As can be understood from his statement, Villeneuve was clearly disappointed with his Timothée Chalamet-starrer sequel because, so far into the year, it has pretty much been the only movie from 2024 that currently holds such an impressively triumphant box office result.
This can be backed by the financial performances of other summer releases like Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and other films before it like The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, both of which failed to perform as magnanimously at the box offices as they were supposed to.
All of this being said, it becomes only understandable just why Villeneuve voiced such dismay with his recently released masterpiece. At the same time, he also expressed just how “lucky” he felt he was to have the sequel to his 2021 movie “reach the audience” as perfectly as the first film as well.
Denis Villeneuve Also Feels ‘Lucky’ About Dune 2’s Reception
During the same event, Villeneuve continued to emphasize just how necessary he felt it was for movies to “fully embrace the power of the theatre” and reach the extraordinary heights of success that his novel-based film series did.
Explaining his point, he said:
I think we need movies that are theatrical experiences, that will fully embrace the power of the theatre, and I’m not just talking about Dune 2. Of course I’m talking about many movies. A movie like Civil War, for instance, is a strong example of a movie that absolutely used the power of the theatre.
Continuing, he then also expressed how he felt “lucky” to have his movie reach his audience so outstandingly, saying:
I was lucky that Part 2 did reach the audience, I wish it would happen more often, honestly.
Well, for whatever it’s worth, through his words, filmmaker Denis Villeneuve just proved how much of a keeper he is for the entertainment industry’s success; losing whom would be like nothing short of losing a true gem.
Dune: Part One and Part Two are now available to be streamed on Prime Video and Max.
