As expected, the highly anticipated (and magnificent) Dune: Part Two went gangbusters at the global box office, raking in $81.5 million domestically and $178.5M worldwide, per Deadline. The big-budget sequel instantly becomes the biggest film of 2024 worldwide, trumping The Beekeeper’s $151M global tally, and will easily overcome Bob Marley: One Love ($82.7M) as the top domestic earner of the year.
Dune 2 easily outpaced its predecessor’s $41M domestic opening and should quickly overtake its $433M worldwide haul. Granted, that film was released concurrently on HBO Max during the Covid era when no one was going to theaters.
Audiences awarded the pic an A, besting the original’s A-, which bodes well for its long-term outlook. Interestingly, like Oppenheimer, the 3-hour epic is in high demand on platforms such as Imax ($32.9M globally on 809 screens), which are selling out globally, per the trade. As we saw with Christopher Nolan’s award-winning feature, people are willing to wait until they can see Dune 2 on the biggest screen possible.
In other words: who knows how high Dune will fly. Particularly since the Denis Villeneuve-directed sci-fi film has the box office all to itself for the next three weeks. Kung Fu Panda 4 opens this Friday, but that’s not a direct competitor, as Dune primarily aims at older audiences. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will likely steal some of its thunder on March 22, followed by Godzilla x Kong on March 29, but Dune should muscle its way to strong numbers over the next month.
Bob Marley came in second with $7.43M (-45%), bringing its cume to $82.77M domestic. Ordinary Angels, meanwhile, held strong in its second week with a 3-day $3.85M haul. The drama has earned $12.5M.
The only other new release this week was Chosen, Season 4, Ep. 7-8, which accrued $3.9M in its debut.
Box Office Results: Domestic Top 10
1.) Dune: Part Two (Leg/WB) 4,071 theaters, Fri $32.3M, Sat $28.8M Sun $20.3M 3-day $81.5M/Wk 1
2.) Bob Marley: One Love (Par) 3,390 (-207) theaters, Fri $1.92M (-48%) Sat $3.4M Sun $2.09M 3-day $7.43M (-45%) Total $82.77M/Wk 3
3.) Ordinary Angels (LG) 3,020 theaters Fri $1.05M (-55%) Sat $1.66M Sun $1.14M 3-day $3.85M (-38%)/Total $12.5M/Wk 2
4.) Madame Web (Sony) 3,116 (-897) theaters, Fri $800K (-51%) Sat $1.46M Sun $940K 3-day $3.2M (-45%) Total $40.4M/Wk 3
5.) Chosen, Season 4, Ep. 7-8 (Fathom) 2,235 theaters, Fri $971K, Sat $1.2M Sun $936K 3-day $3.15M, Total $3.9M/Wk 1
6.) Migration (Ill/Uni) 2,204 (-230) Fri $450K (-32%) Sat $1.27M Sun $780K 3-day $2.5M (-13%) Total $123.4M/ Wk 11
7. Demon Slayer…(Sony) 1,949 theaters Fri $515K (-91%) Sat $905K Sun $645K 3-day $2.06M (-82%)/Total $15.7M/Wk 2
8.) Wonka (WB) 1,732 (-471) theaters, Fri $350K (-42%) Sat $865K Sun $520K 3-day $1.73M (-29%) Total $216.7M/Wk 12
9.) Argylle (App/Uni) 2,283 (-2) theaters, Fri $370K (-50%) Sat $650K Sun $380K Sun 3-day $1.4M (-49%) Total $43.9M/ Wk 5
10.)The Beekeeper (AMZ MGM) 1,347 (-810) theaters, Fri $275K (-45%) Sat $524K Sun $314K 3-day $1.1M (-42%) Total $64.9M/Wk 8
11.)Drive-Away Dolls (Foc) 2,278 (-2) theaters Fri $300K (-71%) Sat $430K Sun $270K 3-day $1M (-58%)/Total $4.3M/Wk 2
