“Dune 2″'s opening day gross is $32 million

It's a box office boon for “Dune.” “Dune: Part Two” grossed an astonishing $32.1 million on opening day from 4,071 locations, a number that also includes $12 million from Thursday evening and earlier event preview showings.

It's already the biggest opening weekend of the year, surpassing the $28.6 million three-day gross of “Bob Marley: One Love.” “Dune: Part Two” nearly matched the $41 million debut its predecessor reached in October 2021, when Warner Bros. released the film. The movie was simultaneously on her streaming device (né HBO Max) and the theatrical scene was still in heavy gear. Rebuilding as coronavirus lockdowns ease. Even with these caveats, this is a great step for robust, prolonged follow-up.

The question now is how far the “sand dunes” can go. Heading into the weekend, industry projections for the Denis Villeneuve-directed film had an opening between $70 million and $80 million, a range the film has a good chance of going north of. A large proportion of ticket sales are expected to come from formats such as Imax and Dolby, as there is serious appeal among consumers to see “Dune” in a premium large format auditorium. Increased ticket prices help increase revenue, but the limited amount of showings may also cause some viewers to delay their exit to theaters until they can get the right seat in front of a giant screen. That may limit viewership now, but it could lead to some strong installs for “Dune” in the future. And it will need it, considering the $190 million production budget.

“Dune: Part Two” also gets to hit Imax screens for three weeks before “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” hits theaters. This is a big window that Warner Bros. is hoping to deliver. To benefit from it.

“Part II” is also auspicious for an extended theatrical run, and is the best-reviewed film of the year so far. diverse Chief film critic Peter Debruge praised the film as having “a satisfaction that few films can provide.” It's a massive gamble, given the cost of production on this scale, and the vote of confidence in cinema. Audiences are looking forward to it, too, as evidenced by the “A” grade conducted by early audience polling company Cinema Score. (The first “Dune” landed with an A-.)

Adapted from Frank Herbert's sci-fi novel, Dune: Part 2 stars Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, a messianic king who leads an army against a rival clan on the highly lucrative desert planet of Arrakis. Zendaye, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgard, Javier Bardem, and Dave Bautista all return from the first film, while Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, and Anya Taylor-Joy are new additions to the cast.

In a distant second, Paramount's “Bob Marley: One Love” looks to continue churning out $1.9 million. on Friday, down just 48% from last week. The musical biopic is expected to surpass the $80 million domestic gross on Saturday, with the possibility of hitting the $100 million mark still in the cards.

Lionsgate's “Ordinary Angels” is eyeing a third-place finish Expected $3.7 million. The faith-based drama will surpass $12 million in grosses this weekend. Fifth place goes to Sony's “Madame Web,” which won't even make $3 million in its third weekend. The Marvel Comics adaptation likely won't top $40 million domestically after 17 days of release — a dead-on result for a superhero entry budgeted north of $80 million.

And Paul Atreides isn't the only Messiah who will appear on the big screen this weekend. Fourth place should go to Fathom Events' release of the final two episodes of The Chosen Season 4. This follows the theatrical bow of the first three episodes of the season on February 2 and three more episodes on February 16. Those previous two collections grossed a total of US$23 million – a sum to which the final event of the season will now add. Fathom's versions of “The Chosen” have been a niche but reliable draw over recent years, and Season 4 has proven another fruitful project.