Timothée Chalamet’s Dune: Part Two is set to gross $170 million on its global debut on March 1. The film is made on a budget of $190 million, an increase from its previous film’s $165 million budget. Fans are already hailing the movie for its predicted massive box office opening despite having a lower budget than recent big Warner Bros. movies like The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Legendary Pictures largely financed Dune 2, however, Warner Bros. also had a double-digit investment in the film. The studio hopes the film will save them from their current low $8.60 share price, but their box office prediction is lower than that of other tracking services.
Timothée Chalamet’s Dune: Part Two Will Shame Other Big Budget WB Films
Dune: Part Two is receiving rave reviews from critics and audiences who have watched the IMAX screening of the film. Fans are drawing parallels between Dune 2 and other epic sci-fi films like Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. According to Deadline, most exhibitors and tracking services are projecting a $80 million domestic debut for the film in the U.S. and Canada.
They also project that the film will earn $85-90 from overseas, amassing a total opening week collection of $170 million. Interestingly, Warner Bros. is more conservative in its prediction for Dune 2‘s domestic debut, projecting a $65 million opening. It appears that the studio is intentionally lowering its expectations after the colossal failure of big-budget films like The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
The Flash was a CGI-heavy, highly-anticipated outing from Warner Bros. which crashed and burned at the box office. The $200-220 million budget for the film was wasted on visual effects that received heavy criticism. Comparatively, Denis Villeneuve worked his magic with practical and visual effects on the Dune sequel, which received immense praise from critics (via Deadline). Similar was the case with Aquaman 2, which fared better than The Flash but failed to impress the fans.
Aquaman 2 had a disappointing opening at the box office, grossing just $40 million in its opening weekend against a budget of $200-215 million (via Variety). The film crawled to a final collection of $434.1 million (via Box Office Mojo), a far better figure than The Flash‘s $271.3 million (via Box Office Mojo). It appears that the fantastical world of Dune: Part Two won’t disappoint Warner Bros.
The film’s current domestic box office prediction also far exceeds the first film’s $41 million opening in 2021. However, COVID-19 conditions and the early announcement of a streaming release date may have impacted the box office of the first film.
Fans Believe Dune: Part Two Will Break Records That Other WB Films Couldn’t
Fans have high hopes for the film from the predictions. They believe that Dune: Part Two will perform far better than any other big-budget Warner Bros. films released in recent times. One fan on X shared that the film will definitely break some records this year. Another fan predicted that it would be the best science fiction film in decades, probably after the original Star Wars trilogy. One fan added that the film was deserving of a billion-dollar hit.
One fan took a dig at other films, most likely the ones like The Flash, sharing that the audience could tell the difference between real art and stuff that was just put together. Fans also questioned the huge budgets of flopped films like Fast X and The Marvels, along with the reported $200 million budget of the upcoming Joker sequel (via IGN). Some fan reactions read:
Will definetely break records.
— Self Made Mindset (@iamself1made) February 27, 2024
Bruh, it's gonna be massive. Best science fiction in decades
— Julian (@JulianJanganoo) February 27, 2024
This film needs to hit a billion, it’s so deserving of it.
— 💯💯💯 (@idfkanymorekms) February 27, 2024
People notice when something is earnest. We can tell the difference between real art and a real movie, and stuff that was just thrown together.
— hades (@hades69099) February 27, 2024
And the Joker II only costs 300M!! What tf are we doing with these film budgets now days? Dune II, one of the best scifi films ever made, visually stunning, action packed, everything you'd want for a scifi film. All of this, only costing 190M.
These producers need to wake up.
— bray (@kruckshanks) February 27, 2024
Bro Fast X cost 340M and The Marvels cost 270M and Dune and its sexy popcorn bucket looks better than those movies
This movie is going to break records
— The Lazer (@TheLazerOffical) February 27, 2024
Timothée Chalamet‘s film is undoubtedly on a path to securing a blockbuster hit status, especially since the film is 97% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The limited IMAX screening grossed nearly $2 million on Sunday and the film is set for an early Thursday night preview in 3,400 locations across the U.S. and Canada.
