"Dune Part Two" will open October 20th, 2023
Tuesday, October 26, 2021 at 4:12PM by Nathaniel R
Dune Part One landed big at the box office this past weekend with a $41 million bow, a solid gross even in pre-pandemic times for a non-sequel (with the caveat that it's still a very familiar IP). That plus the overseas gross was apparently strong enough to get a greenlight on Dune Part Two quickly though it still feels insane that they poured money into the first half without a deal on the second. Good luck coordinating everyone's schedules; The cast is hardly B list and now they'll be even more in demand though we're betting they all had Part Two firmly in their contracts even without a start date so perhaps they'll be locked into whatever dates the production decides and other movies or tv shows will have to make do without them or wait until they're free of the desert again. Beginning in 2022 Warner Brothers films will no longer be immediately streaming on HBOMax as they have been all this year so, barring another pandemic, expect Dune Part Two to have a significantly bigger opening weekend in October of 2023.
Let the speculation begin: Will the Academy stump for Dune this season or wait until 2023 and, if it sticks the landing, shower it with statues a la Return of the King twenty years earlier.
Dune, Oscars (23), box office, release dates, sequels
Reader Comments (12)
Easily my favourite movie of the year.
I was expecting to watch the movie, enjoy it, and move on with my life. I don't particularly care about any of the actors and haven't read the books.
HOWEVER, Denis Villeneuve is doing that thing to me again. In 2016 I watched ARRIVAL seven times in a movie theatre, and, as of today, I've watched DUNE four times in a movie theatre. I don't know why. Is it the escapism? Is it because sci-fi done brilliantly is better than any other genre done brilliantly? It's probably that.
Absolutely convinced that DUNE will age better than most of the Best Picture contenders.
Five years later, ARRIVAL is easily the most unique, memorable, and re-watchable movie of the Best Pic contenders that year (including Moonlight, sorry).
Yavor -- i find this fascinating to read. I think the movie is good but it floors me that people feel satisfied since that was the opposite of my experience. Dramaturgically i found it so frustrating as it is really only half a story and doesn't even pretend to try to feel like a complete part of a story.
I'm imagining a healthy nomination haul (including Best Pic), and will pick up a few technicals. I'm thinking the same for the sequel, assuming it's quality.
I haven't seen this one yet - haven't been able to make it to the theater and definitely will not watch it on HBO Max - but I am curious as to who will be cast as Alia. I'm guessing she will be aged up like the 1984 version?
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@Nathaniel - apologies if you’ve explained this elsewhere, but where do you land on the first/second Lord of the Rings films in comparison in terms of completing one full story? Since both are arguably in the same boat of moving the story forward despite knowing they won’t complete it.
Duncan -- i can only speak for my own experience but in both cases I felt like i had had a full meal and the story had some semblance of beginning middle and end (albeit withint a larger framework). but with Dune I felt like i was at "beginning" for the entire three acts which... that's just not satisfying storytelling. Beautiful film though with cool characters and lots to build on. but for me it's just not complete enough to call a great film. It is absolutely an A+ pilot for a television series though.
I really loved Dune (but I do love Arrival way more, it is still Villeneuve's masterpiece) and how Denis Villeneuve understood the assignment: it is entertainment of high caliber for adults. it's obviously visually jaw dropping and that score....the cast is also wow, Chalamet manages to make a thankless role interesting, Isaac's sexy beard, Rampling is delicious and Fergunson should be in the conversation for Supporting Actress.
@NathanielR - Absolutely spot on. This would have made a great television series. It's way better than some recent high budget sci-fi TV series like Invasion (Apple+), Raised by Wolves (HBO), Loki (Disney), or Devs (Hulu). As a movie, I actually fell asleep in the middle but that was probably because I watched it from my couch. Kind of wished I sat in a theater.
I'm glad they're going to make Part Two, because I felt Part One was underwhelming and I hope that Part Two rounds things off and elevates Part One in doing so.
It wasn't just that Part One was all set-up. It's also that I felt that it was a bit of a slog. The film lacked humour and, as a result, felt rather self-important. The pacing was sometimes off (e.g. how quickly or slowly will those sandworms arrive?). And I didn't find it very interesting visually. All that said, I did quite enjoy it - the actors were good and there was a decent amount of action - and I'd like to see the second part. And I'm glad I could see it at the cinema.
The last Villenueve movie I enjoyed was Enemy and everything before that
This makes sense, and part of me cynically wonders if this announcement was held off to ensure that fanboys would flock to see it in theaters (even multiple times) to ensure a big opening weekend box office.
I think part 1 definitely feels like the first part of a story and maybe isn't a stand alone film in the same the LOTR films were. However, there is a sense of an arc, especially for Paul and we do see him grow quite a bit. I'll note, though, that as action/big-budget films have become more serialized and as we've moved to a place where the lines between television and films are blurred, I don't think audiences really care.
I wonder how Villeneuve sticks the landing with this? The second half of the book/story will be hard to pull off, especially with its politics and the way fandoms work.
Having read the book, I thought the split worked better than I expected it to (in part by ending it slightly earlier than where the book time jumps). In particular the ending where Paul accepts his role and that he is meant to remain with the Fremen is a crisper, more satisfying conclusion than the book hits at the end of its second section. I disagree that it dramaturgically was unsatisfying. Like the first LOTR movie or Empire Strikes Back, it has profound character arcs, thrilling set pieces, and sets the stakes for what is to come.