Experts Project DUNE: PART TWO Will Open At $65 Million

Published: February 15, 2024

Experts Project DUNE: PART TWO Will Open At $65 Million

By Movieguide® Contributor

Box office projections are theorizing DUNE: PART TWO is on track to open at $65 million.

The DUNE sequel’s tickets went on sale 34 days before the premiere, and Deadline reported “that presales out of the gate indicate that DUNE: PART TWO is pacing ahead of the advance ticket sales of Universal’s OPPENHEIMER.”

The outlet also reported that the $65 million projection “is 59%-83% higher than the opening of DUNE back in 2021 ($41M).”

The delayed premiere date is part of the reason DUNE: PART TWO is on track to make millions. The movie was initially set to be released last year, but the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes complicated matters.

“Releasing the film back then would’ve meant the non-involvement of its star-studded ensemble cast in the promotions, and W.B. opted to delay the film’s debut over immediately meeting the artists’ terms,” Collider explained, adding that DUNE’s cast includes big names like Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken and Austin Butler.

Another component to DUNE: PART TWO’s hypothesized success is the massive popularity of the first installment in the series.

Per Box Office Mojo, DUNE: PART ONE made $403,619,856 overall at the box office, and the movie was nominated for Movieguide®’s Faith and Freedom Award® for Movies.

A portion of the Movieguide® review reads:

DUNE is a powerful, exciting, satisfying epic. It’s worth seeing on a big screen. Even better, the movie has strong Christological themes, excellent dialogue and conservative statements about freedom and individualism. It affirms a father’s love and the importance of motherhood. DUNE has very little foul language, and no explicit crude content. MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children and young teenagers because of intense action violence and references to the hallucinogenic properties of the natural resource called spice.

Movieguide® also reported on what viewers can expect from DUNE: PART TWO:

DUNE: PART TWO will take viewers along the journey of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) as he finds Chani (Zendaya) and the Freman. He embarks on a journey of revenge against the conspirators who ruined his family. Atreides is faced with a decision to make, the love of his life and the fate of the world. He voyages to stop a horrifying future only he can see.

In a Warner Bros presentation in Las Vegas Zendaya stated, “She’s not just in dreams this time. I only got a small time to find out who she was [in Part One]. … These are still two young people who are trying to grow up, fall in love and leave, being a warrior for your people.”

Villeneuve also stated at the presentation, “Part Two is an epic war movie, much more dense. We visited Arakis. We visit new locations; everything is new in the film. In the first movie, we shot 40% in Imax — this time it’s full Imax.”