Most movies, if they made $69 million in two weeks studio executives would be popping open Champagne.
But with “Dune,” Denis Villeneuve’s epic, it’s a much different story. “Dune” is a glacier at the box office.
Costing somewhere between $150 and $200 million, “Dune” is a slow starter out of the gate.
So far, through today, “Dune” has earned $69 million in the US. Most epics in wide release would have done that in 1 week, or faster.
But “Dune” is long, three hours almost, and it’s also available on HBO Max. Those two things are slowing it down.
This past weekend, “Dune” made $15 million. It’s not a disaster yet. But it’s plodding along to the $100 million mark. So it’s break even point is way in the distance.
Warner Bros. was smart in releasing “Dune” internationally before letting it hit here. The result is a foreign box office so far of $222.7 million. They’re close to $300 million worldwide.
But fear not: “Dune 2” is coming in two years, and there will be HBO Max spin off series, so way down the line– way, way, down the line — they will break even and maybe turn a profit. We will all be long gone. But we’ll read about in the clouds, I’m sure!
