SATURDAY AM: Refresh for chart and extra evaluation Legendary Entertainment/Warner Bros‘ Dune: Part Two is shaping up at this moment to with a weekend take around $76M, which though not at that $80M expectation the industry was putting upon it, is still wonderfully 85% over of Dune‘s $41M opening, which was dampered down by Covid and pic’s avail on HBO Max. Friday got here in with $32.2M, which incorporates previews. The final time we noticed a Friday with previews north of $30M was on the finish of October with Universal/Blumhouse’s Five Nights at Freddy‘s posting $39.6M which become an $80M opening. Dune: Part Two‘s Friday can be slightly below that of Oppenheimer‘s which was $33M (and an $82.4M opening).
At the top of the day, Dune: Part Two is a field workplace blessing, make no mistake. CinemaRating is a strong A, forward of Dune‘s A-. PostTrak is still high at 5 stars, 94% positive. That’s sufficient spice to maintain this sci-fi epic area worm film going.
Some see the Denis Villeneuve directed film’s take at $72M-$75M. We’ll get into that in a minute, however this sci-fi epic has all of the diagnostics to overperform tonight. The query: do extra of the Zendaya followers come out and does this flip into extra of a date night time movie.
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Right now Imax and PLFs are driving 48% of the weekend gross much like the primary Dune and an incredible share for upscale tickets. Audiences are discerning and need to see this film in essentially the most superb scenario, which means the most effective theater, biggest premium format and the most effective seats. Imax alone is 27% which is an unusually excessive share for Imax, and that’s huge push to this film in the most effective codecs. There is a continuing close to sellout of Imax, Dolby and PLF auditoriums, even throughout early exhibits, at AMC’s Porter Ranch, Universal City, and Century City, nevertheless on the Valencia Regal simply exterior of LA (which is determined want of a reworking, there’s quite a lot of empty seats in customary exhibits). The downside with a few of these premium auditoriums at AMC is that the primary two rows are too near the display. Often, you don’t see them promoting out.
PostTrak exhibits 18-34 repping 55% of the viewers with 24–34-year-olds the biggest demo at 34% with the general over 35 crowd repping 41% of ticket consumers.
Adam Aron’s AMC Lincoln Square in NYC is the very best grossing theater within the nation at $165K thus far. While Dune: Part Two is taking part in greatest in every single place, however overperforming within the West and Mountain areas.
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UPDATED, Friday late afternoon: The $190 million Legendary Entertainment/Warner Bros sequel Dune: Part Two is heading for a $30 million-$34 million Friday, inclusive of $12M previews, for what’s shaping as much as be a $70M-$80M weekend at 4,071 theaters. Lower estimates stem from the truth that this film shouldn’t be a younger-skewing fanboy film; these over 25 attended final night time at 77%, with guys over 25 repping 53% of the group.
Last night time’s Screen Engine/Comscore PostTrak exits have been from one other galaxy at 5 stars, 94% constructive. Women over 25 at 24% have been the second-biggest demo, adopted by males below 25 at 15% and girls below 25 trailing at 8% (that portion of Zendaya’s followers haven’t confirmed up but). The 25-44 demo repped 53% of the viewers. Diversity demos have been 48% Caucasian, 22% Hispanic and Latino, 13% Black, 10% Asian and seven% different.
I’m advised there are nonetheless seats obtainable — indicative within the pic’s opening. But should you’re attempting to get seats this weekend within the Dolby auditorium of AMC’s Century City or Porter Ranch location, fuhgettaboutit.
We’ll have extra updates as they arrive.
UPDATED, Friday AM after Thursday EXCLUSIVE: Legendary/Warner Bros’ Dune Part Two has now grown to $12 million-plus in previews, Warner Bros mentioned Friday. That’s from 4,500 places; Imax alone delivered $4.5M of that quantity, or 38%. Of that preview determine, $2M got here from an Imax fan screening on February 25. Audience reactions have hit Rotten Tomatoes they usually’re at 95%, which is nice. Denis Villeneuve’s first Dune noticed 83% licensed contemporary from RT critics and 90% from RT audiences.
Dune: Part Two preview money is slightly below that of Deadpool, which did $12.7M in 2016, and it’s slightly below the $13M made out of Warner’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (midnight present begins again in 2012). Again, these didn’t have any fan screening cash in-built, however that’s fascinating vary of fanboy comps for 2 motion pictures that opened to $132.4M and $84.6M, respectively.
Dune: Part Two is roughly 10 minutes longer than the 2021 model at 2 hours and 46 minutes. Given how vital it’s for followers to see this film in Imax or a premium format, it is going to be fascinating to see whether or not there’s a gradual burn on this. Some field workplace sources have assumed the sequel is front-loaded, but it surely’s clear Dune: Part Two calls for appointment viewing; moviegoers will need the appropriate seats in the appropriate auditorium for a close to three-hour characteristic. Imax, Dolby Cinema and PLFs have been an enormous driver on the primary pic, repping 50% of its $41M 3-day (once more, it was day-and-date as a result of Covid on HBO Max). Imax theaters alone delivered $9M from 404 screens on the primary Dune for 22.5% of the weekend.
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The final Dune noticed $5.1M in previews delivering a $17.5M opening day, or 29%.
Meanwhile, film theaters are approaching this film prefer it’s Star Wars. Well past AMC’s Sandworm popcorn bucket (that are going for near $70 on Etsy), chains are promoting Dune-themed drinks.
Megaplex denizens ingesting blue worm juice.
At Santikos Theatres in Texas the bar particular is the Arrakis Sunset. At the Larry H. Miller Megaplex theaters in Utah, they’re serving blue worm juice (aka “The Water of Life”), which truly is Powerade (hey, it’s Utah!).
The final Dune acquired an A- CinemaRating and 4 1/2 stars, 84% constructive on Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak, with a 66% particular advocate.
Yesterday, Deadline’s Nancy Tartaglione reported Wednesday’s offshore outcomes, which have been $7.6M (that features previews) from 13 markets together with No. 1s in every, notably France, Italy and Korea.
EXCLUSIVE, THURSDAY PM: Welcome again to the cinema, everybody.
Legendary Entertainment/Warner Bros’ Dune: Part Two is off to a powerful begin with $10 million-plus in previews, per trade estimates Thursday. We hear that determine contains $2M from the Imax fan occasion screening that happened February 25. Note that these numbers don’t come from Warner Bros, so that they could be greater or decrease Friday morning. Previews started at 3 p.m. at present.
At $10M+, that’s the largest preview money we’ve seen since Barbenheimer on Thursday, July 20, when Warner Bros’ Barbie made $22.3M and Universal’s Oppenheimer did $10.5M. Also, Five Nights at Freddy’s, regardless of going day-and-date on Universal’s Peacock streaming service put up a terrific Thursday night time preview of $10.3M on October 26.
Freddy’s opened to $80M, whereas Oppenheimer began at $82.4M. That’s the highest finish of the place many expect the Denis Villeneuve-directed sequel to come back on this weekend.
Far and away, Dune: Part Two‘s previews are ahead of the Thursday night of 2021’s Dune, which did $5.1M from showtimes that began at 6 p.m. They’re additionally forward of John Wick: Chapter 4‘s $8.9M; that film put up a $73.8M three-day complete.
What is barely tough in projecting at this level is that presales for Dune: Part Two are premium-format frontloaded and customary advance ticket gross sales are OK, per sources. Advance ticket gross sales of $18M usually signifies a film will open to north of $100M, however many in distribution circles are taking these presales with a grain of salt.
Dune: Part Two has the whole lot going for it: 95% licensed contemporary on Rotten Tomatoes with critics and a social media universe per RelishMix of 575.5M throughout Facebook, X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. That simply blows away the 468.9M SMU of the primary Dune in October 2021 which was obtainable day-and-date on HBO Max.
Reports RelishMix: “An element in re-dating Dune 2 in the strike from the first weekend in November was clearly the social fire-power of the cast with Zendaya at 227.8M, Dave Bautista at 180.1M, Timothée Chalamet at 21.1M, Florence Pugh at 9.5M, Austin Butler at 5.2M and Josh Brolin at 3.3M.”
On the social media monitor’s rule stick that’s “full activation at 10 on a scale of 10 with all cast super social and fully activated across all social platforms.”
Nothing however solar, solar, solar for Dune so far as social media chatter goes, similar to its desert setting.
Says RelishMix, “Convo tone on Dune: Part 2 runs positive with chatter on all aspects of the film — everything from the camerawork to the soundtrack is drowning in praise: ‘I am so impressed by the scale of these movies. These are a masterclass in filmmaking; they don’t make them like this anymore.’ The ensemble cast is energizing fans, saying, ‘We get to see more of Zendaya!’ and, ‘It’s SO good to see Christopher Walken back in action again.’ Fans are unanimous that director Denis Villeneuve can be trusted to deliver the goods as always, with fans remembering his work on Dune and Blade Runner 2049. Many comps this to original The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The score, by composer Hans Zimmer, is particularly getting fans riled up. ‘That music! Goosebumps galore! Zimmer does it again!’ The film is being described as even more than a blockbuster, instead as a “complex geopolitical thriller,’ and fans want more of it: “This better be a 3+ hour movie.’”
We’ll have extra updates as they arrive.