Dune: Part Two Set For Biggest Box Office Opening of 2024 So Far

Dune: Part Two is giving the sluggish 2024 box office a jolt with the largest opening of the year thus far. Dune: Part Two is blowing its box office projections that had it opening in the mid-$70 million range with an opening week of $81.5 million. That's almost double what the first Dune opened to in 2021 (with a day-and-date release on HBO Max), and follows the biggest preview night screening total since Barbie and Oppenheimer created a buzz in 2023. Dune: Part Two has been met with critical acclaim, earning a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. ComicBook.com's Patrick Cavanaugh scored the film as 4-out-of-5 stars in his Dune: Part Two review. He writes:

"[Frank] Herbert's Dune is not only a thrilling journey in its own right, but it also serves as an allegory exploring themes of colonialism, fanaticism, religion, imperialism, and the exploitation of natural resources. These aren't entirely crowd-pleasing ideas, and Villeneuve largely accomplishes honoring those themes while also making for an engaging sci-fi epic. It doesn't quite feel as awe-inspiring as the debut film, but this will ultimately work in the favor of the story, as we aren't given arbitrarily inflated elements that would have fit within the blockbuster-oriented sensibilities of franchise filmmaking seen in so many other series. Still, the fact that such an inaccessible tome could be brought to life without having to sacrifice either the character complexities or depressing allegories found within the source material makes the two-film journey a triumph in its own right, and we can't wait to see where Messiah will take us."

The list of the top 10 films at the box office this weekend is in the works. Dune: Part Two is playing in theaters now.