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Dune: Part 2 breaks box office records - and it rivals an all-time great

Prepare for a multi-million dollar figure as Timothée works his magic

Dune: Part 2 breaks box office records - and it rivals an all-time great

By Danielle de Wolfe

05 March 2024

Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part 2 has received a standing ovation where critics and fans alike are concerned.

And now, the sci-fi epic - and follow-up to the record breaking 2021 Dune release, has broken a host of new records (and no, we're not talking about its epic run time).

The star power of lead Timothée Chalamet has proved undeniable, with figures emerging from the North American box office revealing the release earned a whopping $81.5 million (£64 million) during its opening weekend according to Variety.

The figures make this the biggest opening weekend of 2024 where the domestic box office is concerned.

It also makes the sequel the largest opening weekend since Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concert film hit cinemas last October, grossing $93 million domestically across the US.

Not to mention the fact it's the biggest worldwide release since Barbie hit cinemas with an impressive $356 million in revenue in July last year.

Oh, and the small matter of claiming an impressive 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Now, the next chapter of Frank Herbert’s celebrated novel Dune continues to dominate, holding a whopping 63% share of the global top 10 chart.

And it's a definite contender when it comes to a record breaking 2025 awards season (yes, we're thinking ahead here), set to rival 2021’s six-time Academy Award-winning Dune release.

Taking overseas figures into account, Dune 2 has already made $178.5 million worldwide - and that's just in one weekend.

It's an impressive feat when you consider that no films have crossed $100 million mark domestically in 2024.

So far, the highest earning movies of the year have consisted of The Beekeeper, Bob Marley: One Love and Mean Girls.

The Warner Bros. Pictures release stars Wonka's Timothée Chalamet, Spider-Man's Zendaya, Oscar nominee Josh Brolin and Mission Impossible's Rebecca Ferguson to name but a few.

The release explores the mythic journey of Paul Atreides, with the character uniting with Chani and the Fremen on a revenge mission, taking on the conspirators who set out to destroy his family.

Co-written with Jon Spaihts, the release has brought in 10 times the takings of the second place film in the global charts - South Korean release Exhuma.

“Doubling the previous film’s box office debut, even when considering a hybrid release, is no small feat for a sequel in a genre that often has a tough barrier to entry,” says Shawn Robbins, the chief analyst of Boxoffice Pro.

“Goodwill from the prior movie and the ability of its stars to promote the film helped bring out more than just die-hard fans this time around.”

The film is yet to be released in China and Japan, however, the original Dune grossed an impressive $46.2 million in the two territories last time around.