Denis Villeneuve‘s reimagining of Frank Herbert‘s classic sci-fi novel Dune is getting a lot of love at the international box office, with the film earning $26.3 million from 32 overseas markets in its second week, making the total of $76.5 million since its release outside of US.
Even though Dune has made good money despite the international box office’s slow recovery from COVID-19, it will have to make a hefty sum in theaters to make a profit, because the Warner Bros. and Legendary film cost $165 million to produce. Dune still hasn’t reached its full earning potential as it hasn’t debuted in the US, a key market for the film but even in the US, the box office earnings will be diminished because of Warner Bros. day and date plan which means that Dune will debut in theaters in the US and on HBO Max on the same date and that is October 22. Dune will also open in China, which is great for the film as many Hollywood movies haven’t been granted permission to do so.
Dune made its highest ticket sales in Russia pulling $4.9 million from 1,850 screens, marking a 37% decline from its opening. From France, the film pulled $4.2 million from 893 screens (33% decline), while in Germany the film scored $3.4 million from 900 screens, $1 million in the United Arab Emirates, and $969,000 in Saudi Arabia.
Villeneuve’s Dune stars Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson in lead roles. The official synopsis for Dune is: Dune, which tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.