Dune: Part Two was ready for release in fall 2023, but we're glad Warner Bros. delayed it til now
Delaying Dune: Part Two's release until after the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes lead to an overall success
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There are any number of reasons for the success of Dune: Part Two, in theaters now. The most obvious is the success of the first film, Dune: Part One, but you can't deny that the popular cast and preexisting Dune fandom contribute to what Deadline is predicting to be a $170 million opening weekend. But let us pitch this to you: another reason for the box office darling is Warner Bros's and Legendary Pictures's decision to delay the release date.
In case you don't recall, Dune: Part Two was originally slated to hit theaters in October of 2023, just after the end of the WGA writers' strike and amidst the SAG-AFTRA actors strike (we reported on as much last year). Had the movie come out then, there would have been no red carpet, no interviews with the actors, and most importantly, no Zendaya in a robot suit. With the release date far away from either strike, the whole cast and crew are free to make the premiere of Dune: Part Two a real movie event.
It's worth noting, too, that Dune: Part Two enters a usually crowded stage without much competition for attention - its release date is dead center of an eight-month gap in Marvel movies (between The Marvels and Deadpool & Wolverine), and its still a few months before the Mad Max spinoff Furiosa or Joker: Folie à Deux. Tack onto that that there's no Fast & Furious or Star Wars films until 2025, and it's a great time to be a tentpole flick.
Currently, Dune: Part Two is on track to more than triple the opening weekend of Dune: Part One, which came in at a (still impressive) $41 million. Perhaps the lesson here is that good things are worth waiting for, whether you're recieving them or putting them into the world.
Then again, maybe it was just the robot suit.
Dune: Part Two is in theaters now, and you can buy tickets on Fandango or Atom Tickets.
Need more spice (heh) in your life? Popverse has all the Dune coverage you could want. From Dune: Part Two's ending explained, to details on the sequels and TV show prequels that are planned, to how to prep for the next film with a Dune watch order, to which Frank Herbert story Denis Villeneuve believes would make a great Dune: Part Three, and even which movies to watch after you've finished Dune.
