Box Office Hit: ‘Dune,’ which Opens in Manila on November 10, Just Crossed $300 million Worldwide - Arts & Culture

The Denis Villeneuve film is leading the way for a strong fall movie lineup.

If you are looking for any indication that the movie industry is poised for a comeback, you don’t have to look further than Warner Brother’s Dune. The Denis Villeneuve film crossed the $300 million mark at the global box office yesterday. 

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In North America, the movie topped more than $71 million while more than $228 million from around the world, and those numbers are poised to go even higher. 

A succession of impressive #1 openings, coupled with strong word of mouth, had anticipation for the film increasing exponentially as the film rolled out around the globe. The epic action adventure, based on the seminal Frank Herbert novel, kicked off the fall season to great fanfare at the Venice and Toronto film festivals before beginning its theatrical play mid-September.

“We are so thrilled that this one-of-a-kind cinematic experience has movie lovers, as well as lifelong fans of the book like Denis Villeneuve himself, eager to see ‘Dune’ as he envisioned it: on the biggest possible screen,” says Jeff Goldstein, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Domestic Distribution.   

Cinema returns

In the Philippines, Dune will open on November 10, on the first day of the return of cinemas in the country. While only 30 percent will be allowed in the theaters here for now, it’s expected to still do relatively well since Filipinos have been starved of a real cinematic experience. 

A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding. 

He must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

The film stars Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Oscar nominee Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling, with Jason Momoa, and Oscar winner Javier Bardem.  

These terrific numbers, Goldstein points out, coupled with A- CinemaScore and a Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, show that the film delivers and that audiences are going back for multiple viewings.

“From our first international opening in September, we could see that Dune was both a critical and crowd pleaser,” Andrew Cripps Warner Bros. Pictures International Distribution president states. “The numbers have continued to bear that out as each market has opened and we look forward to a healthy theatrical play, with Australia and New Zealand yet to come as we head into the holidays.”

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