Warner Bros. might have a new franchise on their hands in “Dune”, which has swept up the competition at the box office and on streaming. 🎬
According to estimates from Comscore Inc., “Dune” generated $40.1 million in North American ticket sales in its debut weekend. This weekend, it made another $15.5 million — which might sound paltry, but it’s still above all other films in theatres by a meaningful margin.
“Dune” has made $58 million domestically, making it one of the biggest premieres of the pandemic-era. It’s nearing $300 million in worldwide gross.
What makes these figures even more impressive is that “Dune” launched simultaneously for free on streaming platform HBO Max. Day-and-date premieres are hard, because they tend to sap box office revenues.
Samba TV, a selected smart TV content recognition tech, said that 1.9 million households watched “Dune” (out of the 28 million it tracks) on HBO Max during its opening weekend. According to Reelgood, a streaming guide, the film had the highest engagement of any day-and-date movie premiere in 2021.
An analysis by Observer further substantiates the success of Warner Bros latest and greatest film, directed by Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049.) However, an even more upbeat indicator is that “Dune: Part 2” has been greenlit by the studio. It’s definitely not going to be a day-and-date premiere, though. 😊
WarnerMedia is in the process of merging with Discovery Inc. (and spun off into a separate entity.) Until then, WarnerMedia lives under $T, which is down 14.2% YTD.