Denis Villeneuve leads the franchise to a billion dollars
Denis Villeneuve leads his franchise to victory as the combined box office of both Dune movies crossed the billion-dollar mark just last week. Frank Herbert’s novel was successfully adapted into a blockbuster franchise, with Villeneuve at the helm. Now Dune: Part II has been made into a critical darling and box office smash. Critics praised the story, acting, and visuals of these movies as they depict an epic conflict between warring factions. Now that the second part is done, it may pave the way for a new franchise.
Dune is a massive book series with each volume being anywhere from 600-700 pages. The first two movies are a combined total of five hours. Allegedly, Denis Villeneuve already had plans for an adaptation of the next book, Dune Messiah, and composer Hans Zimmer has already begun composing music for this film. The anecdote that took place is Villeneuve wordlessly placing a copy of Dune Messiah on Zimmer’s desk. And thanks to its release window, the second one had an even bigger box office than the first one.
Dune was held back by its release window. Previously slated for a 2020 release, it was pushed back more and more until it finally had a release in October 2021. The release was held back by COVID, smaller releases, and of course Warner Bros. putting their big blockbusters on HBO Max, now just called Max. These releases included Godzilla vs. Kong, Mortal Kombat (2021), The Suicide Squad, and of course, Dune. The service would place the blockbuster on Max as a simultaneous release. James Gunn and Denis Villeneuve especially were both very vocal about how their movies were made for the theater experience. Despite all these obstacles that Dune faced, it was still a box office hit, grossing $435 million dollars and Villeneuve had his sequel greenlit. Dune: Part II had a similar issue due to the simultaneous strikes taking place in Hollywood. But once it was able to release in theaters, its box office was a smash hit. The opening weekend was $82 million and, as of time of writing, has now grossed $560 worldwide. With this $100 million dollar difference, the movie was a hit and even more successful than the first one. The Dune series is on its way to becoming the next global phenomenon. It overcame the odds of a rocky start and Denis Villeneuve leads the franchise to victory.
