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The sci-fi blockbuster Dune brought in $15.5 million over the weekend, which during the pandemic is a relatively paltry number still strong enough to lead the pack among theatrical releases and box-office take. Releasing theatrically on October 25, Dune’s opening weekend take was $40.1 million in North America, setting a box office record for a Warner Bros. film in 2021 after its first three days.
Analysts are pointing to all the obvious reasons for the severe drop, but it was still enough to beat out other releases–a Halloween falling on Sunday (which historically also eats into Saturdays) and the pandemic just means fewer people in the theaters overall, plus the fact that Dune also released on HBO Max simultaneously. After Dune, Halloween Kills placed second and brought in $8.5 million, and No Time to Die is still holding relatively strong at third with $7.8 million according to Box Office Mojo.
US domestic box office weekend chart for October 29-31, 2021
DuneHalloween KillsNo Time to DieMy Hero Academia: World Heroes’ MissionVenom: Let There Be CarnageLast Night in SohoAntlersRon’s Gone WrongThe Addams Family 2The French Dispatch
GameSpot’s Dune review scored the film a 10/10. “Fans of the series need only know this: Villeneuve’s Dune is the best possible adaptation of one of science fiction’s most iconic works. It’s the one you’ve awaited for over five decades, or since whatever time you first turned a page in Herbert’s seminal novel,” Michael Rougeau wrote. “The talented filmmakers and jaw-dropping cast have done it justice. Go see it so that they can tell the rest of the story.”
And fortunately, the numbers so far have been significant enough to assure there will indeed be a follow-up to Dune. It was finally announced in late October that Dune Part 2 will be coming in October 2023.
