Box Office: ‘Dune’ Opens Strong With $5.1 Million in Thursday Previews

By comparison, Searchlight’s “The French Dispatch” grossed $1.34 million from just 52 screens on its opening weekend and then expanded to 788 screens and added $2.6 million the following weekend.

By comparison, fellow 2021 Marvel title “Black Widow” opened to $80 million in July after a $39.5 million Friday while “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” opened to $75.8 million in September after a $29.5 million Friday. “Shang-Chi” was able to blow past industry estimates thanks to a strong Sunday hold, leading into a Monday Labor Day performance that pushed the film to a holiday record $94.6 million 4-day opening.

It’s a few notches down from the $75.8 million 3-day opening for “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” but “Eternals” sits just above the $70 million opening of “F9” to stand as the fourth-highest opening weekend this year. It also is enough to push overall grosses back above $100 million for the fourth time since the start of October, a benchmark theaters are hoping to consistently clear as they aim to make Q4 2021 the first profitable quarter for exhibitors since the pandemic began.

By comparison, fellow 2021 Marvel title “Black Widow” opened to $80 million in July after a $39.5 million Friday while “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” opened to $75.8 million in September after a $29.5 million Friday. “Shang-Chi” was able to blow past industry estimates thanks to a strong Sunday hold, leading into a Monday Labor Day performance that pushed the film to a holiday record $94.6 million 4-day opening.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Eternals,” the latest chapter in Marvel’s sprawling, ever-expanding superhero universe, opened to a mighty $9.5 million in Thursday previews. That’s the third best preview result for the COVID era, just behind “Black Widow” with $13.2 million and “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” with $11.6 million.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterMarvel’s “Eternals” has already touched down in several international markets, generating $7.6 million on opening day.The comic book adaptation — starring Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Salma Hayek and Angelina Jolie — debuts in North America and most major moviegoing markets on Friday. Through the weekend, “Eternals” is expected to dominate over global box office charts with projections to bring in $75 million to $80 million in the U.S.

It’s a positive sign for both Warner Bros. and the box office, as both have struggled during this rebuilding period to post opening weekends above $30 million.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“Dune,” an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic, opened to $40 million at the North American box office. It’s a respectable start given the ongoing pandemic and the fact that “Dune,” like all Warner Bros.

It’s a positive sign for both Warner Bros. and the box office, as both have struggled during this rebuilding period to post opening weekends above $30 million.

J. Kim Murphy administratorNorth American audiences are seeing the spice flow on the big screen.

“Dune,” Warner Bros.’ and Legendary’s science fiction epic from director Denis Villeneuve, brought in $5.1 million at the box office in its Thursday night preview screenings. It opens on over 4,100 screens this weekend.

Dune is starting off strong!

When Joe Russo recently predicted the arthouse independent box office wouldn’t be coming back, following the damage the pandemic did to the theatrical industry, we didn’t think his prediction would come correct so soon. But when you think about it, his prediction is off.

When it was announced last month that the “Halloween” sequel was moving to day-and-date — a move Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum said was fueled by the poor box office performance of “Freaky” — studio sources told TheWrap that Universal felt confident that the film could boost interest in Peacock without sacrificing significant box office revenue as hardcore horror fans both love the “Halloween” series and put a high value on seeing scary films in a theater with other moviegoers.That confidence turned

J. Kim Murphy administratorMore than 40 years after the first “Halloween,” Michael Myers and Laurie Strode are still box office gold.

“Hallloween Kills” killed at the box office, slashing it’s way to $4.9 million in Thursday previews.The Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions horror movie is the latest movie in the long-running “Halloween” franchise.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Halloween Kills” slashed its way to $4.9 million in Thursday previews.The Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions horror flick is the latest blood-soaked installment in the long-running “Halloween” franchise, a series that is firmly in its fifth decade. And despite being comfortably middle-aged, “Halloween Kills” is projected to generate $35 million to $40 million in its first three days of release.

Despite more optimistic hopesfrom analysts and theater owners that Daniel Craig’s final Bond film could perform similar to “Skyfall” ($88 million) or “Spectre” ($70 million), “No Time to Die” has still given cinemas plenty of reasons to celebrate.