Dune 2 box office: could sci-fi sequel be highest grossing film of the year, how much did first movie make?

Dune: Part II comes to cinemas on March 1, and is likely to become the highest grossing film of 2024 so far, surpassing current number one The Beekeeper, which made $150 million, including $37 million in its opening weekend.

The strongest opening weekend of 2024 so far was Valetine’s Day weekend which saw Bob Marley: One Love take $80 million globally, but there was a sharp dropoff in the following week and the film is now sitting on around $120 million.

The Dune sequel, which has hyped up since the first film was released in 2021, and had several release dates pushed back, is expected to do better in its opening weekend than any film this year has made in total.

How much could Dune: Part II make at the box office?

Dune: Part II is predicted by most tracking services to make around $175 million globally in its opening weekend, with around $80 million of that coming from the US and Canada.

The first Dune film made $41 million domestically in its opening weekend, but this was during the Covid pandemic, and it had already been announced that the film would be released on HBO Max in the US five weeks after its cinematic debut.

Distributors suspect that Part II could go on to make $1 billion at the global box office by the time its cinematic run has ended, although this means that the film will have to maintain high week on week earnings, and opening weekends generally make the high point of a film’s success.

If Dune II does manage to pass the billion dollar mark it will become the 54th film to do so - the last film to join the exclusive club was 2023’s summer blockbuster Barbie.

How much does Dune: Part II need to make at the box office?

To turn a profit, Dune: Part II probably needs to make 2.5 times its budget at the box office - this accounts for marketing costs and the cinemas’ cut of ticket sales. 

Dune II reportedly has a budget of $190 million, $25 million more than the first instalment, and so needs to make $475 million globally to break even, which seems very doable.

Given that it is the first major blockbuster of the year, boasts a huge cast, in the form of Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Christopher Walken, and many more, and has had strong marketing in the run up to its release, the sci-fi epic seems a sure thing to make a decent profit and become the highest grossing film of the year to date.

How much did Dune 1 make at the box office?

Dune made just over $400 million at the global box office when it was released in 2021 (including $108 million domestically), though the Covid pandemic surely limited the movie’s potential.

It was the 12th highest film of the year, lagging behind Bond movie No Time to Die, superhero franchise films Spider-Man: No Way Home, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Eternals, as well as other major blockbusters.

With a budget of $165 million, the film may have just about broken even, but Part II is expected to fare far better.