“Dune: Part Two” is barreling toward another box office milestone.
Director Denis Villeneuve’s science-fiction sequel has grossed $494.7 million globally, including $208 million in North America and $289.4 million internationally. It should surpass the $500 million mark by Monday, a figure that few films have reached in post-pandemic times. Although it’s early in the year, “Dune 2” is currently the highest-grossing film of 2024 at the domestic and worldwide box office.
After 10 days on the big screen, “Part Two” surpassed the entire domestic tally of the first film ($108 million), although it’s worth noting that the benchmark comes with a major caveat. The original 2021 film was released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max, so its ticket sales were stifled by the hybrid release on streaming. Now, the follow-up film has outgrossed its predecessor, which generated $433 million at the worldwide box office.
Outside of the U.S. and Canada, “Dune: Part Two” has enjoyed the strongest turnout in China ($36 million), the U.K. ($32.8 million), Germany ($25 million), France ($24.9 million) and Australia ($15.6 million).
Glowing word-of-mouth and interest in premium formats have kept the ticket sales flowing for “Dune 2.” Over the weekend, the film surpassed $100 million from Imax screens alone, the seventh-fastest film to reach the milestone.
Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment co-produced and co-financed “Dune: Part Two,” which cost $190 million to produce and roughly $100 million more to promote to global audiences. Despite the steep price tag, the film has retained the staying power needed to justify those expenses.
Based on the second half of Frank Herbert’s seminal 1965 novel, the story continues the mythic quest of Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides, who seeks safety in the desert after powerful royals betray his family. Austin Butler, Florence Pugh and Christopher Walken join the sprawling cast of Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin and Stellan Skarsgård.
From Variety US