Photo: Chiabella James/Warner Bros
Duneis moving forward with a pre-planned sequel after seeingbox office successduring its first weekend in theaters.
The Denis Villeneuve-directed sci-fi film, which premiered in theaters and on HBO Max on Oct. 22,grossed $40.1 millionin its opening weekend. On Tuesday, Legendary, the production company behind the film, confirmedDune: Part Twois officially in the works.
“This is only the beginning…Thank you to those who have experienced@dunemovieso far, and those who are going in the days and weeks ahead,” Legendary posted onTwitter, along with an orange image reading “Dune: Part Two.” Legendary added, “We’re excited to continue the journey!”
With its impressive box office numbers,Dunepulled in the highest three-day total in sales since Warner Bros. started itssimultaneous release schedule, in which Warner Bros. films premiere both in theaters and on HBO Max for 30 days.
The movie, which is an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel of the same name and comes after the 1984 David Lynch film, covers about half of the events that take place in the book.
He also thanked everyone for seeingDuneand his other recent release,The French Dispatch, writing on his Instagram Story, “THANK YOU to EVERYONE who saw these movies in theaters this past weekend !!! The movies exist because of the cast and crew but actually going to see them in theaters got it over the finish line !! So THANK YOU !!!!!”
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures
While few details have been revealed about the upcomingDunesequel, Villeneuve — who will return for the second film — toldThe Los Angeles Timeshe hopes to give certain characters more time to shine inDune: Part Two.
“There are some characters that are less developed that I’m keeping for the second film — that’s the way I found the equilibrium. We tried in this movie to stay as close as possible to Paul’s experience,” the director said. “Then, in the second one, I will have time to develop some characters that were left aside a little bit. That’s the theory. I hope it will work.”
According toDeadline, the secondDunefilm will premiere exclusively in theaters for a set window, with no HBO Max simultaneous streaming release plan.
Dune: Part Twois set to premiere Oct. 20, 2023.
source: people.com
