'Dune 2' holds ground; collects Rs. 7.2cr in India
Director Denis Villeneuve's big-budget flick Dune: Part Two, featuring Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya, is making waves at the global box office. Released on Friday, it has nearly hit the $75M mark in worldwide collections. Despite competition from films like Laapataa Ladies and Operation Valentine in the country, the highly anticipated sequel to Dune is defying competition and dominating the box office, not only in India but worldwide.
Why does this story matter?
Dune 2 is the second installment of the two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert's 1965 eponymous novel. The star-studded cast also includes Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem, with new additions like Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, and Souheila Yacoub. The epic saga continues as Paul Atreides leads the Fremen people against House Harkonnen on the desert planet Arrakis.
Film's total collection in India reached Rs. 7.2cr
After a respectable opening of Rs. 2.75cr, Dune 2 garnered an estimated India nett collection of around Rs. 3.75cr on Saturday across all languages, per Sacnilk. This brings the film's total collection to Rs. 7.2cr in India. The movie achieved an overall 22.83% English occupancy on Saturday, with the highest turnout during evening shows at 26.7%. Meanwhile, the overall Hindi occupancy on Saturday was 8.87%.
Positive signals with strong international collections
In the US, Dune 2 kicked off with a strong $12M from Thursday previews and wrapped up Friday with a total of $32.2M (including previews). Internationally, the blockbuster earned $21.6M on Friday after collecting $20.8M on Wednesday and Thursday (including previews). By Friday's end, Dune 2's international earnings reached $42.4M, bringing the worldwide total to $74.6M. With such momentum, the film's opening weekend is set to be a smashing success.
Opening weekend projections and potential milestones
Based on its current trajectory, Dune 2 is projected to close its domestic (US) opening weekend with $75-85M. Overseas, the film is expected to rake in an impressive $95-110M by Sunday, making a global weekend total of $170-195M possible. Surpassing the original Dune's lifetime earnings of $433.79M seems easily achievable, and there's even potential for Dune 2 to join the prestigious $1B club.
