Dune 2 Surpasses Wonka as Timothee Chalamet’s Most Successful Film

Dune Part Two has earned $665 million at the worldwide box office so far, surpassing Wonka to become the highest-grossing movie of Timothee Chalamet’s career. The star, who has quickly become one of the most sought-after leads in Hollywood, is currently in production on A Complete Unknown, a movie about Bob Dylan’s years in the Greenwich Village folk scene of the 1960s. Chalamet plays Dylan. There are also rumors of more Dune movies and a Wonka follow-up, althoguh none of those are in active production yet and, as far as we know, Chalamet is not yet attached to any of them.

Wonka closed out its theatrical run with $631. Given that Dune is still doing fairly well, it wouldn’t be unlikely to see that movie cross at least $700 million before all is said and done. Of course, it isn’t exactly an apples-to-apples comparison. Dune Part Two reportedly cost around $190 million to produce, whereas Wonka cost closer to $125 million. That means while Wonka earned about 500% of its production budget in theaters, Dune Part Two would need to clear almost $1 billion to reach that level of profitability. 

That might seem like a petty distinction, but given the state of theatrical exhibition and the relative rarity of billion-dollar blockbusters now as compared to a few years ago, reasonable people could argue that studios need more Wonkas than they do Dunes. In any case, nobody is upset to rake in nearly $700 million on any movie — especially a sequel to a film that did just $406 million when it was in theaters.

Per the film’s official synopsis from Warner Bros. and Legendary, Dune: Part Two explores the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee. 

The big-screen epic Dune: Part Two includes Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Léa Seydoux, with Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem. Denis Villeneuve directed from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jon Spaihts based on Frank Herbert‘s iconic novel.