Dune Reaches $40 Million In The US After First Weekend

The sci-fi movie Dune opened in US cinemas this weekend, and the film was a great success. It made $40.1 million at the North American box office to set a new record for a Warner Bros. film in 2021 after its first three days. Godzilla vs. Kong ($31 million) held the record before this.

Dune opened in theaters and on HBO Max, just like every WB movie this year. This day-and-date plan is being scrapped for 2022, with WB's movies coming first to theaters exclusively.

Dune made another $47.4 million from international markets this weekend to improve its global haul to $220 million so far. All of these box office numbers come from Variety.

"I'm smiling," WB domestic distribution boss Jeff Goldstein told Variety. "Exhibitors are thrilled. The best part is, fans are loving what they're seeing. They're loving the big-screen experience. It's been a winner of a weekend for movie-lovers."

Dune is labeled as Part One, and many are hoping to see a sequel. However, WB has yet to announce if it will move forward with a second installment. The movie cost $165 million to produce, with many millions more spent on marketing. Whether or not a sequel gets made comes down to how well Dune performs overall--at the box office and for HBO Max--WB boss Ann Sarnoff told Variety.

Director Denis Villeneuve, who previously directed Arrival and Blade Runner 2042, has been critical of the HBO Max release strategy. He told Variety of bringing Dune to HBO Max--"Warner Bros. might just have killed the Dune franchise."

GameSpot's Dune review scored the film a 10/10. "Fans of the series need only know this: Villeneuve's Dune is the best possible adaptation of one of science fiction's most iconic works. It's the one you've awaited for over five decades, or since whatever time you first turned a page in Herbert's seminal novel," Michael Rougeau wrote. "The talented filmmakers and jaw-dropping cast have done it justice. Go see it so that they can tell the rest of the story."