‘Dune’ Debuts Internationally With $36.8M

Hollywoodreporter.com: Dune has launched at the international box office.

The highly anticipated Legendary/Warner Bros. movie opened overseas to $36.8 million across 24 markets and 7,819 screens. Russia led international tickets sales with $7.6 million, followed by France ($7.5 million), Germany ($4.9 million) and Italy ($2.6 million).

Dune‘s giant-format ticket sales were a particular stand-out, with the movie earning $3.6 million in Imax ticket sales from 142 screens, making its per-screen Imax average an astounding $25,000. The Imax ticket sales made up 10 percent of the movie’s total international take. The movie was shot for large-format viewing, with the Imax version featuring an exclusive expanded aspect ratio.

Next weekend, Dune will continue its international expansion, opening into the Middle East, before expanding into smaller markets in mid-October and then debuting worldwide on Oct. 22. It should be noted that surges of COVID-19 cases continue to impact international markets like Australia, Japan and Korea.

The movie is set to debut in the U.S. on Oct. 22. Like all 2022 Warner Bros. titles, Dune will premiere day-and-date on HBO Max and in theaters. The streaming service is not available internationally, meaning the sci-fi epic is available only in theaters overseas. Dune will debut in China via Legendary on the recently revealed date of Oct. 22.

Timothée Chalamet leads Denis Villeneuve’s take on Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi classic. Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson and Javier Bardem round out the A-list ensemble.