'Dune: Part Two' Opening Weekend Box Office Numbers Revealed - Biggest Opening of 2024!

After three weeks in theaters, “Dune: Part Two” currently reigns as the top-grossing film of 2024 with $512.1 million earned globally. That’s about $80 more total gross than its 2021 predecessor, which guarantees Warner Bros. will greenlight “Dune: Messiah,” right? Not so fast.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Part II” continued its sway atop the U.K. and Ireland box office for a third consecutive weekend with £4 million ($5.1 million), according to numbers from Comscore. Denis Villeneuve’s anticipated sequel has an all-star cast including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling and Javier Bardem reprising their roles from the first film, with Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken and Léa Seydoux joining them.

Coming out of the weekend, and with Sunday’s actuals and Monday’s numbers included, there are new global milestones to celebrate for the two major Hollywood titles currently in release.

“Kung Fu Panda 4 ” stayed at the top of the North American box office in its second weekend in theaters. The Universal and DreamWorks Animation movie earned $30 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.The franchise featuring the voice of Jack Black is responsible for over $1.9 billion at the box office since it launched in 2008 and spawned several animated series, shorts, video games and a holiday special.

With a solid offshore hold, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two is closing in on $500M globally. The overseas weekend brought in $51.2M across 73 markets, a 40% drop versus last session (-37% excluding China). The international box office cume through Sunday is $289.4M, and worldwide the running total is $494.7M. The latter figure means the film has already surpassed Villeneuve’s 2021 Dune worldwide.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “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.

After pouring over $200M currently into the domestic box office with Dune: Part Two, Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros. have more cash to shower on exhibition with the Easter weekend March 29 theatrical release of Godzilla x. Kong: The New Empire. Currently projections are at $45M+ (don’t be shocked if it hits $50M) for the second Adam Wingard directed title in the Legendary Monsterverse.

LOS ANGELES — As Universal Pictures prepared for a big night at the Academy Awards with “Oppenheimer,” the studio also celebrated the No. 1 debut of “Kung Fu Panda 4,” which collected $58.3 million in domestic theaters over the weekend, according to estimates Sunday.“Kung Fu Panda 4,” the first film in the DreamWorks Animation franchise since the third installment in 2016, got off to a better start than all but the 2008 original.

Warner Bros/Legendary Entertainment’s Dune: Part Two held strongly in its sophomore session at the international box office, adding $81M to handily cross the $200M overseas milestone, and reaching $367.5M globally.

The thawing of the winter box office continues this weekend with Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 4 which is bound to see the franchise’s second highest domestic opening at $50M+ at 3,900 theaters after the original 2008 movie ($60.2M). But that’s not all, it’s also the second biggest start for a DWA title after Universal acquired the label from its 20th Century Fox distribution deal; the biggest during Universal’s 2.0 with DWA being How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World which debuted to $55M in March 2019. Kung Fu Panda 4 is skewing among males and females under 25. Previews start Thursday at 2PM. No RT review rating yet.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter It’s a box office battle of the sequels as Universal and Dreamworks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda 4” vies for first place with “Dune: Part Two” on domestic charts. The fourth “Kung Fu Panda” movie looks to collect $45 million to $50 million in its opening weekend. Meanwhile, “Dune: Part Two” is projected to add $40 million to $45 million in its second outing.

If we’re going to praise the visual rapture of Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” movies—and we should—and in particular, the newly released “Dune: Part Two,” there’s no conversation that can happen without mention of Academy Award-winning cinematographer Greig Fraser, who won his first Oscar for “Dune” in 2022. READ MORE: Denis Villeneuve Calls ‘Dune: Part Two’ A “Dark Tragedy,” Talks Potential ‘Messiah’ Sequel & More [Interview] While “Dune: Part Two” is genuinely unanimously praised by critics (read our review here)—and this weekend, it grossed $178.5 million worldwide, and with $81 domestic, that’s the biggest opening since “Barbie”— it does have a small group of detractors.

Last week saw the global launch of Denis Villeneuve’s second “Dune” film, wrapping up the conclusion of the first novel adaptation while also leaving everything on a cliffhanger for a third movie that the filmmaker is co-writing with franchise screenwriter Jon Spaihts. Strong critical responses and audience word of mouth have paid off big time for the film as it has made some history over the weekend, becoming the biggest opening for the director and overperforming compared to the first part that was released back in September 2021.

Legendary Entertainment/Warner Bros.’ Dune: Part Two came in higher with an $82.5M opening. That’s all thanks to a higher than anticipated Sunday of $21.65M versus $20.3M.

*Some spoilers ahead for “Dune: Part Two” in the following article, beware.” When adapting a rich sci-fi fantasy literary franchise as dense and epic as the scale of Frank Herbert’s “Dune,” some things just won’t be able to make the feature film adaptation. As you may have noticed if you saw this film this weekend, there are a few elements seen in the David Lynch incarnation that didn’t make it into director Denis Villeneuve’s two-part incarnation, such as the Spicing Guild and Navigator (A mutated clairvoyant that warns The Emperor of House Atreties and Paul Atreteies becoming a threat to them).

Dune: Part Two ” is delivering on the promise. Armed with sandworms, big screen spectacle and the star power of Timothée Chalamet, Denis Villeneuve ’s science fiction epic stormed the North American box office this weekend earning $81.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.Internationally, it earned $97 million, bringing its global debut to $178.5 million.“Denis made a really extraordinary and special film and its been really exciting to see people respond,” said Mary Parent, a producer on both “Dune” films and chairman of worldwide production at Legendary. “It was made for the big screen and it feels like it’s being received as a cinematic event.”It’s the first major hit of 2024, and one that was sorely needed by exhibitors.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Dune: Part Two” is turbocharging the international box office. Director Denis Villeneuve’s otherworldly sequel has generated $97 million from 71 overseas markets, bringing its global tally to a promising $178.5 million. Those worldwide revenues include $81.5 million from North American theaters, where it landed the biggest domestic opening weekend of the year.

J. Kim Murphy It’s a “Dune” boon for the box office. “Dune: Part Two” touched down with an impressive $32.1 million gross on opening day from 4,071 locations, a figure that also includes $12 million from Thursday evening and earlier event preview screenings.

FRIDAY UPDATE: Dune: Part Two added 42 international box office markets on Thursday, taking the offshore cume on the Denis Villeneuve-directed sequel to $20.8M in a total 55. This includes two full-days of play and previews in those markets.

UPDATED FRIDAY AM, POST EXCLUSIVE: Legendary/Warner Bros Dune Part Two has now grown to $12M+ per Warners. That’s from 4,500 locations, and Imax alone delivered $4.5M of that number or 38%. Of that preview figure, $2M came from an Imax fan screening on Feb. 25. Audience reactions have hit Rotten Tomatoes and they’re at 95%, which is great. Denis Villeneuve’s first Dune saw 83% certified fresh from RT critics and 90% from RT audiences.