Dune had a solid opening weekend at the box office bringing in $40.1 million domestically. Though alongside that, Dune also was a hit at home for many people as it beat the opening weekend streaming numbers for Zack Snyder’s Justice League and In the Heights on HBO Max. Dune was watched by 1.9 million households during its first weekend starting from Thursday night to Sunday.
This data comes from Samba TV as HBO Max typically doesn’t share viewing numbers. These numbers were also reported by Variety who also shared the previous viewing date for other films that debuted both in theaters and on HBO Max. While Dune didn’t reach numbers similar to Godzilla Vs. Kong, Mortal Kombat, or The Suicide Squad, Dune did top others including Tom & Jerry and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Here is the full rundown of the viewership data for the day-and-date HBO Max releases:
- Mortal Kombat – 3.8 million
- Godzilla vs. Kong – 3.6 million (Wednesday-Sunday)
- The Suicide Squad – 2.8 million
- Wonder Woman 1984 – 2.2 million
- Space Jam: A New Legacy – 2.1 million
- Dune – 1.9 million
- Zack Snyder’s Justice League – 1.8 million
- The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It – 1.6 million
- Those Who Wish Me Dead – 1.2 million
- Tom & Jerry – 1.2 million
- The Many Saints of Newark – 1 million
- The Little Things – 1 million
- Reminiscence – 0.8 million
- Malignant – 0.8 million
- In the Heights – 0.7 million
- Judas and the Black Messiah – 0.7 million
However, Dune did set an important record for Warner Bros. as it had the biggest weekend at the box office for any movie that also debuted on HBO Max. This could be due to the large push by director Denis Villeneuve and by many critics to go see Dune in the largest theater possible. Villeneuve has criticized the decision to put Dune on HBO Max, especially since the future of the Dune series will depend on its box office success. This is only the first part of a full Dune adaptation, however, a sequel has still not been greenlit. With its box office success, domestically and internationally, it does seem like a sequel should be on the way, but Warner Bros. hasn’t said anything yet.
Dune is currently streaming on HBO Max until November 21. After that, it will be exclusive to theaters.
