As Dune's opening weekend has concluded, the official viewership numbers have been released -- and it was streamed 1.9 million times just in its first weekend on HBO Max.On Twitter, Samba TV announced, "1.9 million households watched Dune during its initial Thursday release and first weekend on HBO Max." This puts the film just barely ahead of Zack Snyder's Justice League, which was streamed by 1.8 million households in its opening weekend. Wonder Woman 1984 topped them both last December when it was viewed by 2.2 million households.
Dune also saw a successful opening weekend in the box office, earning $5.1 million from its Thursday showings alone. Altogether, the film grossed $40.1 million in its opening weekend, which many believe would have been more if not for the COVID-19 pandemic and its simultaneous release to HBO Max. The numbers were also likely affected by piracy sites leaking Dune ahead of its release.
Along with surpassing the opening weekend numbers of Zack Snyder's Justice League on HBO Max, Dune also surpassed Clint Eastwood's western drama Cry Macho as they both debuted at the international box office in September. In its international opening weekend, Dune earned $35.8 million and ranked #1 in 24 overseas markets including Russia, France and Germany. In the same weekend, Cry Macho made only $350,000 overseas.
Dune is an adaptation of a classic sci-fi novel of the same name by Frank Herbert and covers the first half of the novel, with director Denis Villeneuve hoping to secure a sequel to cover the second half. The director even commented that he is ready to start shooting a second Dune film as early as next year, and he's already begun working on the script.
Dune (2021) is the third on-screen adaptation attempt of the novel, having been preceded by a 1984 David Lynch film and a 2000s miniseries. Despite being dubbed unadaptable by many, the newest take is faring well with critics, landing an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Dune is out in theaters now and is also available to stream on HBO Max for a limited time. A second film has not yet been officially announced.
Source: Twitter