On Thursday, Dune: Part Two added 42 new international box office markets, bringing the sequel directed by Denis Villeneuve’s offshore cume to $20.8M in a total of 55. In those cities, there will be two full days of play and previews.
Now the top U.S. title across all markets, the Warner Bros./Legendary Entertainment science fiction extravaganza will soon be available in Spain and the UK in addition to 14 smaller hubs. As Anthony has pointed out, domestic previews brought in more than $12M.
The Top 5 foreign starters on Thursday were Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Australia, and Poland. 70% of the market share of the Top 10 films was taken by the start in Germany, where the cume including previews is $2.4M. The opening days of The Batman (+65%), Dune (+81%), Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (+119%), Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (+136%), and Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 (+155%) are all ahead of the results, which are essentially in line with Oppenheimer.
Previews and all, Australia has a $1.3 million cume. An 81% share of the Top 10 were achieved on the first day. Like Germany, the take is about in line with Oppenheimer’s and higher than the other competitors, which include Dune (2021), M:I7 (81%), and Rise of the Beasts (170%).
Mexico brought in $696K on Thursday, easily ranking first, with premium formats doing particularly well. IMAX accounted for 10% of the daily total, while 4D made up 5%. With his bow on Thursday, Villeneuve had his best start in the market, surpassing Dune by 85%.
Poland led the way with $361K to start the non-traditional Thursday at the top. Because Thursday releases are uncommon, comps are challenging, but this is in addition to Barbie’s extended Thursday previews and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, which debuted on a Thursday.
At number one, Brazil brought in $331K, four times more than the film at number two. Villeneuve is also having one of his best opening days ever, outpacing Dune by 127% and approximately matching M:I7. With only 1% of the market’s screen count, IMAX achieves fantastic performance, accounting for 11% of box office revenue.
France, with $3.5 million, Germany, with $2.4 million, Korea, with $2.1 million ($3.9 million through Friday, not included in the total above), Australia, with $1.3 million, Taiwan, and Italy, tied at $1.1 million, are the top five markets overall through two days.
Earlier on Thursday, Warner Bros./Legendary Entertainment’s much anticipated Dune: Part Two opened and quickly became the biggest hit at the global movie office. With $5.2 million on the first day and the top Hollywood film in each of the 13 regions, the Denis Villeneuve-directed sequel started its international release on Wednesday. The offshore cume through yesterday was $7.6M, including previews.
The release markets for Wednesday were Korea, France, and Italy. Previews are included in the $2.3 million running cume in France. Audiences have given Allociné an amazing 4.5 out of 5 stars (while critics have given it a fantastic 4.1). The movie is tracking in line with The Batman, 27% ahead of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, 44% ahead of Villeneuve’s 2021 Dune, and 63% ahead of Oppenheimer, all of which include previews. In terms of admissions, Oppenheimer is 65% behind Imax outcomes. This Dune: Part Two Imax start is even bigger than Avatar: The Way of Water when the previews from France Tuesday are taken into account.
In Korea, where the domestic movie Exhuma is gaining a lot of traction, Dune 2 debuted on Wednesday at No. 2 with $1.2M. Launch day is the biggest for star Timothée Chalamet and director Denis Villeneuve, ranking 108% higher than Dune and 385% higher than Blade Runner 2049. It’s the biggest WB title opening day ever on Imax. The movie has made $2.1 million until Thursday (not included in the totals above).
With $892K on Wednesday, Dune 2 gained a 62% market share in Taiwan, marking the highest opening day for Villeneuve and Chalamet. It outperformed Oppenheimer by 107%, The Batman by 172%, and Dune Part One by 229%.
Dune 2 topped Mission: Impossible 7 by 32% and Dune by 4% in the Top 5 Films on Wednesday, thanks to Italy, which is recovering so well overall. The movie has garnered positive reviews from both reviewers and fans, and advance sales for the upcoming days are looking very promising.
With a 74% share of the Top 5 Films, Sweden led with an early start of $546,000. Imax held 12% of the box office revenue. Moreover, Part Two outperformed all comps.
Today, Thursday, 42 more markets are released, including all of Latin America, Germany, and Australia. With Spain and the UK among the 16 markets that will open on Friday, there will be 71 markets available for release following the weekend.