'Dune: Part Two' Dominates Box Office, Matches 'Oppenheimer' Opening, May End Up 2024's Number One Film
The follow-up to Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 hit “Dune” finally made its way to theaters this past weekend after significant delay.
Apparently, audiences felt watching “Dune: Part Two” was worth the wait.
In its opening weekend, the sequel matched the incredible opening of last year’s Christopher Nolan epic “Oppenheimer.”
Accoridng to Box Office Mojo, “Dune: Part Two” raked in an impressive $81.5 million domestically.
“Oppenheimer,” on the other hand, brought in a shockingly similar domestic total of $82.4 million during its opening weekend in 2023.
Given that the latter film went on to become 2023’s third-highest-grossing film worldwide, it follows that “Dune: Part Two” may have an outside shot at winning the 2024 box office.
Of course, that all depends on the film maintaining the same strong legs that helped “Oppenheimer” maintain its box office momentum for so long.
Industry projections indicate the Villeneuve epic won’t have much competition for that title.
Per Deadline, the 2024 box office returns are expected to drop eleven percent from an already not-so-strong 2023.
Sources blame a myriad of factors, including sequel fatigue, bloated budgets and the recent Hollywood strikes.
“We should be nervous about the first half of 2024,” one anonymous executive of a major film studio told Deadline.
“There’s no way that a labor stoppage as prolonged as chaotic as this wasn’t going to have consequences… Fire comes through and burns a forest and a town, and then the fire is over. But the consequences of the fire aren’t over: There’s mudslides, and there’s damaged infrastructure.
“The fire is over: Now we’ve gotta rebuild the town.”
Nowadays, quality Hollywood hits like “Oppenheimer” and “Dune: Part Two” appear to be few and far between.
Though, quality alone isn’t the only thing the two films share in common.
Both were directed by well-respected auteur directors, both were based on preexisting source material and both helped awaken slumbering box offices.
But will the success of “Dune: Part Two” be enough to save the movie industry from a disastrous 2024?
Not on its own.
If major Hollywood studios have any hope of surviving 2024 without the need for some serious financial overhaul, they better hope there are many more 2024 movie hits to come.
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