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The long-awaited Dune had an impressive $5.1 million in box office performance this Thursday. Released in thousands of theaters and IMAXes across the country, Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic is expected to perform well this coming weekend. However, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros is projecting a conservative estimate of $30 million domestic.
The film, which is an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s iconic novel, had a turbulent release. Warner Brothers initially set the release date to November of 2020. The film then had to shift to a December 2020 release. Following this, Dune had to postpone release again due to the pandemic. Now the film is finally out; many wonder whether Dune will mark a shift in box office performance.
Will Dune Keep its Thursday Box Office Momentum?
While Dune has performed well thus far, a few elements may prevent it from dramatically changing the average theatrical pandemic performance. First, the film is very long, coming in at 155 minutes. Additionally, the film will simultaneously release on HBO Max a day early. On the other hand, Dune has a very high-profile cast, which should help its box office performance. Some of the cast members include Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, and Zendaya.
Positive Critical Reception Bodes Well For Film
The film received largely positive reviews upon release and is currently sitting fresh at 89% on Rotten Tomatoes. The critical consensus reads that “Dune occasionally struggles with its unwieldy source material, but those issues are largely overshadowed by the scope and ambition of this visually thrilling adaptation.” These factors seem to indicate that Dune should perform well at the box office. However, the staying power of a film and the theatrical performance is hard to track. So far, the best performing film under the HBO Max hybrid release strategy is Godzilla vs. Kong, which opened to $31.6 million domestically. Time will tell if Dune will be able to surpass that.
