‘Dune: Part Two’ Mines More Moola: Domestic Opening Weekend At $82.5M – Box Office

Legendary Entertainment/Warner Bros.’ Dune: Part Two came in higher with an $82.5M opening. That’s all thanks to a higher than anticipated Sunday of $21.65M versus $20.3M.

Presales, I hear in Imax remain strong into next weekend as some moviegoers want to sidestep crowds and get the best seats. The sandworm epic is following a box office pattern that’s similar to Oppenheimer; that movie eased -43% in weekend 2 for a $46.7M take. Odds are that Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 4 wins the weekend at $50M+, however, expect a rich second weekend in March. Some sources were concerned that Dune: Part Two would be front-loaded; that doesn’t seem to be the case (knock on wood).

More confidence: Dune: Part Two seems to be bringing in younger audiences, which is a very good sign that this feature will have legs throughout the spring. The under 25 set showed up at 26% this past weekend per Screen Engine/Comscore’s PostTrak exits.

Let’s also not forget about repeat business: Close to half of those who saw the Denis Villeneuve directed sequel this weekend said they’re going to see it again in a theater. And as far as Dune 3 goes: Message to Legendary and Warner Bros, but 81% of PostTrak audiences say they want to see a threequel.

On a global basis for Dune: Part Two in Imax, it’s reaped $32M, which is the 7th biggest global start for a movie in the large format, behind Oppenheimer, and ahead of Avatar: The Way of Water in like-for-like markets (that James Cameron directed sequel doing a $31.8M global Imax opening).