Half Two’ Eyes $70M-$80M opening weekend

SATURDAY AM: Refresh for chart and extra evaluation Legendary Leisure/Warner Bros‘ Dune: Half Two is shaping up at this second to with a weekend take round $76M, which although not at that $80M expectation the trade was placing upon it, continues to be splendidly 85% over of Dune‘s $41M opening, which was dampered down by Covid and pic’s avail on HBO Max. Friday got here in with $32.2M, which incorporates previews. The final time we noticed a Friday with previews north of $30M was on the finish of October with Common/Blumhouse’s 5 Nights at Freddy‘s posting $39.6M which became an $80M opening. Dune: Half Two‘s Friday can be just below that of Oppenheimer‘s which was $33M (and an $82.4M opening).

I hear that Dune: Half Two goes to have an ideal Saturday. Already as of this AM, Warners has $13.5M bagged for Saturday. I perceive that they’re up 30% over the pure Friday (much less previews). The sequel has a wonderful 80% particular advocate, and an 80% positively see in a theater. On Friday, near half the viewers purchased their ticket day of indicating robust walk-up enterprise.

On the finish of the day, Dune: Half Two is a field workplace blessing, make no mistake. CinemaScore is a stable A, forward of Dune‘s A-. PostTrak continues to be excessive at 5 stars, 94% optimistic. That’s sufficient spice to maintain this sci-fi epic area worm film going.

Some see the Denis Villeneuve directed film’s take at $72M-$75M. We’ll get into that in a minute, however this sci-fi epic has all of the diagnostics to overperform tonight. The query: do extra of the Zendaya followers come out and does this flip into extra of a date night time movie than it’s: 20% got here with their associate/partner whereas 11% introduced a date versus 21% who went alone and 17% who introduced one buddy. Girls below 25 at 10% attended, and so they gave the Timothee Chalamet, Austin, Butler, Zendaya pic an 85% to the 93%-plus grades of the opposite demos. Dune: Half Two is dude leaning at 65%.

Proper now Imax and PLFs are driving 48% of the weekend gross much like the primary Dune and an incredible share for upscale tickets. Audiences are discerning and wish to see this film in probably the most ideally suited state of affairs, which means the very best theater, biggest premium format and the very best seats. Imax alone is 27% which is an unusually excessive share for Imax, and that’s huge push to this film in the very best codecs. There’s a fixed close to sellout of Imax, Dolby and PLF auditoriums, even throughout early exhibits, at AMC’s Porter Ranch, Common Metropolis, and Century Metropolis, nevertheless on the Valencia Regal simply exterior of LA (which is determined want of a reworking, there’s lots of empty seats in normal exhibits). The issue with a few of these premium auditoriums at AMC is that the primary two rows are too near the display. Typically, you don’t see them promoting out. What winds up taking place: If a moviegoer can’t get their finest seat immediately, then they’ll see Dune: Half Two tomorrow.

PostTrak exhibits 18-34 repping 55% of the viewers with 24–34-year-olds the most important demo at 34% with the general over 35 crowd repping 41% of ticket patrons.

Adam Aron’s AMC Lincoln Sq. in NYC is the very best grossing theater within the nation at $165K thus far. Whereas Dune: Half Two is enjoying finest all over the place, however overperforming within the West and Mountain areas.

On PostTrak, 54% mentioned they snapped up ticket to Dune 2 as a result of it’s a part of a franchise they love, whereas 33% got here as a result of it’s a Villeneuve film, 29% for Chalamet and Butler, and 21% for Zendaya.

Of those that’ve seen the film, 47% mentioned they’ll watch Dune: Half Two in a theater once more — greater than some other house watching choice.

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UPDATED, Friday late afternoon: The $190 million Legendary Leisure/Warner Bros sequel Dune: Half Two is heading for a $30 million-$34 million Friday, inclusive of $12M previews, for what’s shaping as much as be a $70M-$80M weekend at 4,071 theaters. Decrease estimates stem from the truth that this film just isn’t a younger-skewing fanboy film; these over 25 attended final night time at 77%, with guys over 25 repping 53% of the group.

Final night time’s Display Engine/Comscore PostTrak exits have been from one other galaxy at 5 stars, 94% optimistic. Girls over 25 at 24% have been the second-biggest demo, adopted by males below 25 at 15% and ladies below 25 trailing at 8% (that portion of Zendaya’s followers haven’t confirmed up but). The 25-44 demo repped 53% of the viewers. Range demos have been 48% Caucasian, 22% Hispanic and Latino, 13% Black, 10% Asian and seven% different.

I’m instructed there are nonetheless seats accessible — indicative within the pic’s opening. However for those who’re making an attempt to get seats this weekend within the Dolby auditorium of AMC’s Century Metropolis or Porter Ranch location, fuhgettaboutit.

We’ll have extra updates as they arrive.

RELATED: ‘Dune: Half Two’ Film Posters and Pictures: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Josh Brolin & Extra

UPDATED, Friday AM after Thursday EXCLUSIVE: Legendary/Warner Bros’ Dune Half Two has now grown to $12 million-plus in previews, Warner Bros mentioned Friday. That’s from 4,500 areas; Imax alone delivered $4.5M of that quantity, or 38%. Of that preview determine, $2M got here from an Imax fan screening on February 25. Viewers reactions have hit Rotten Tomatoes and so they’re at 95%, which is nice. Denis Villeneuve’s first Dune noticed 83% licensed contemporary from RT critics and 90% from RT audiences.

Dune: Half Two preview money is just below that of Deadpool, which did $12.7M in 2016, and it’s just below the $13M produced from Warner’s The Hobbit: An Surprising Journey (midnight present begins again in 2012). Once more, these didn’t have any fan screening cash inbuilt, however that’s attention-grabbing vary of fanboy comps for 2 films that opened to $132.4M and $84.6M, respectively.

Dune: Half Two is roughly 10 minutes longer than the 2021 model at 2 hours and 46 minutes. Given how vital it’s for followers to see this film in Imax or a premium format, will probably be attention-grabbing to see whether or not there’s a sluggish burn on this. Some field workplace sources have assumed the sequel is front-loaded, but it surely’s clear Dune: Half Two calls for appointment viewing; moviegoers will need the best seats in the best auditorium for a close to three-hour function. Imax, Dolby Cinema and PLFs have been an enormous driver on the primary pic, repping 50% of its $41M 3-day (once more, it was day-and-date as a result of Covid on HBO Max). Imax theaters alone delivered $9M from 404 screens on the primary Dune for 22.5% of the weekend.

The final Dune noticed $5.1M in previews delivering a $17.5M opening day, or 29%.

In the meantime, film theaters are approaching this film prefer it’s Star Wars. Nicely past AMC’s Sandworm popcorn bucket (that are going for near $70 on Etsy), chains are promoting Dune-themed drinks.

At Santikos Theatres in Texas the bar particular is the Arrakis Sundown. On the Larry H. Miller Megaplex theaters in Utah, they’re serving blue worm juice (aka “The Water of Life”), which really is Powerade (hey, it’s Utah!).

The final Dune obtained an A- CinemaScore and 4 1/2 stars, 84% optimistic on Comscore/Display Engine’s PostTrak, with a 66% particular advocate.

Yesterday, Deadline’s Nancy Tartaglione reported Wednesday’s offshore outcomes, which have been $7.6M (that features previews) from 13 markets together with No. 1s in every, significantly France, Italy and Korea.

EXCLUSIVE, THURSDAY PM: Welcome again to the cinema, everybody.

Legendary Leisure/Warner Bros’ Dune: Half Two is off to a powerful begin with $10 million-plus in previews, per trade estimates Thursday. We hear that determine consists of $2M from the Imax fan occasion screening that happened February 25. Notice that these numbers don’t come from Warner Bros, so that they could be increased or decrease Friday morning. Previews started at 3 p.m. immediately.

At $10M+, that’s the largest preview money we’ve seen since Barbenheimer on Thursday, July 20, when Warner Bros’ Barbie made $22.3M and Common’s Oppenheimer did $10.5M. Additionally, 5 Nights at Freddy’s, regardless of going day-and-date on Common’s Peacock streaming service put up an ideal Thursday night time preview of $10.3M on October 26.

Freddy’s opened to $80M, whereas Oppenheimer began at $82.4M. That’s the highest finish of the place many expect the Denis Villeneuve-directed sequel to come back on this weekend.

Far and away, Dune: Half Two‘s previews are forward of the Thursday night time of 2021’s Dune, which did $5.1M from showtimes that began at 6 p.m. They’re additionally forward of John Wick: Chapter 4‘s $8.9M; that film put up a $73.8M three-day complete.

What’s barely tough in projecting at this level is that presales for Dune: Half Two are premium-format frontloaded and normal advance ticket gross sales are OK, per sources. Advance ticket gross sales of $18M usually signifies a film will open to north of $100M, however many in distribution circles are taking these presales with a grain of salt.

Dune: Half Two has all the pieces going for it: 95% licensed contemporary on Rotten Tomatoes with critics and a social media universe per RelishMix of 575.5M throughout Fb, X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. That simply blows away the 468.9M SMU of the primary Dune in October 2021 which was accessible day-and-date on HBO Max.

Reviews RelishMix: “A component in re-dating Dune 2 within the strike from the primary weekend in November was clearly the social fire-power of the solid with Zendaya at 227.8M, Dave Bautista at 180.1M, Timothée Chalamet at 21.1M, Florence Pugh at 9.5M, Austin Butler at 5.2M and Josh Brolin at 3.3M.”

On the social media monitor’s rule stick that’s “full activation at 10 on a scale of 10 with all solid tremendous social and absolutely activated throughout all social platforms.”

Nothing however solar, solar, solar for Dune so far as social media chatter goes, identical to its desert setting.

Says RelishMix, “Convo tone on Dune: Half 2 runs optimistic with chatter on all elements of the movie — all the pieces from the camerawork to the soundtrack is drowning in reward: ‘I’m so impressed by the dimensions of those films.  These are a masterclass in filmmaking; they don’t make them like this anymore.’ The ensemble solid is energizing followers, saying, ‘We get to see extra of Zendaya!’ and, ‘It’s SO good to see Christopher Walken again in motion once more.’ Followers are unanimous that director Denis Villeneuve might be trusted to ship the products as all the time, with followers remembering his work on Dune and Blade Runner 2049. Many comps this to unique The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The rating, by composer Hans Zimmer, is especially getting followers riled up. ‘That music! Goosebumps galore! Zimmer does it once more!’ The movie is being described as much more than a blockbuster, as a substitute as a “complicated geopolitical thriller,’ and followers need extra of it: “This higher be a 3+ hour film.’”

We’ll have extra updates as they arrive.