'Dune: Part Two' dominates global box office with $178M debut

Director Denis Villeneuve's "Dune: Part Two" has already grossed a whopping $178 million worldwide, earning $81.5 million in its American debut and $97 million at the international box office.

This is a strong boost for struggling movie theaters, while the share of the pie has seen a rise in demand for quality theaters.

On the other hand, the fact that the movie was not based on the novel caused criticism.

"This movie has really penetrated pop culture," said Mary Parent, the film's producer, Variety reported.

"This is an unexpected opening for a sci-fi (sequel)," critics said of its box office success.

The Guardian criticized the film's story for not following the novel and said that the Islamic references had been stripped away, making the movie boring.

IMAX in great demand

Nearly half of "Dune: Part Two" U.S. box office came from IMAX and Premium Large Format (PLF) theaters, continuing the trend of strong performance for these premium formats.

The success of "Dune: Part Two," following the earlier success of "Oppenheimer," further fuels the growing audience interest in experiencing movies in these immersive formats.

The movie, co-produced and co-financed by Legendary Entertainment, cost $190 million to make.

The sequel was originally scheduled to hit the big screen last fall but was postponed until spring due to the actors' strike, preventing stars Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh and the rest of the large, acclaimed cast from promoting the movie.

These huge commercial revenues are likely to make Villeneuve the best filmmaker since Christopher Nolan to deliver a PLF screen format that will appeal to a wide audience.

Source: Newsroom