Dune — "A Sensory Experience So Opulent And Overwhelming It Begs To Be Seen Big."

Monica Pagano
Marketing Executive

Oscar nominee Denis Villeneuve directs Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ Dune, the big-screen adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal bestseller of the same name.

Starring Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Dune is a mythical, emotionally charged hero’s journey through space and time. The film made its global premiere at the Venice Film Festival in early September. As a blockbuster of epic proportions, it was an interesting choice for a festival that traditionally celebrates avant-garde filmmaking and storytelling obscurity. But likened stylistically to the Lord of the Rings franchise, the film has been quickly acclaimed for its perfect marriage of the art-house and blockbuster genres and was an instant hit with critics, garnering phenomenal reviews globally.

The Guardian, notoriously light-handed in its awarding of 5-star reviews described Dune as “blockbuster cinema at its dizzying, dazzling best.

What truly sets Dune apart is its exploration of unique dystopian environments. It doesn’t lean into the traditional futuristic sci-fi tropes that we’re well accustomed to in modern cinema. Instead, it incorporates sweeping, harsh desert landscapes which take on a character of their own and challenge viewers’ expectations of the genre. The sheer scale of the movie lends itself to the theatrical experience, with Entertainment Weekly describing the interplanetary tale as “a sensory experience so opulent and overwhelming it begs to be seen big or not at all.”

At the international box office, Dune has made noise ahead of its US debut next month and local release this December. This weekend, in its second week of release, the film bought in $26.3 million USD from 32 global markets. It has generated $76.5 million USD to date. For some perspective, Dune is tracking ahead of its ‘like for like’ comparative films, Tenet (+12%), Black Widow (+49%) Shang Chi (+64%) and Godzilla (+87%), all of which smashed pandemic-era records. We’re forecasting epic blockbuster results locally as we emerge from lockdowns across the nation just in time for the summer slate.

Dune will debut in New Zealand cinemas on October 21.