Dune has topped Zack Snyder's Justice League with its viewership on HBO Max during its opening weekend. The first part of Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Frank Herbert's seminal sci-fi novel of the same name from 1965 released in theaters and on HBO Max this past weekend on October 22. Despite many deeming the novel unfilmable, Villeneuve's adaptation has been lavished with praise for its massive scale and thrilling visuals. Dune also resulted in a $40 million opening weekend for Warner Bros., their biggest since 2019's Joker.
Following Snyder's departure from Justice League, Warner Bros. brought in Joss Whedon to usher the film through post-production, although he ended up conducting extensive rewrites and reshoots, which many believe caused the film to tank at the box office. After a relentless campaign to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut, fans finally got their wish when Zack Snyder's Justice League was released on HBO Max this past March, and the director's original vision was restored. The film was praised as a significant upgrade from the 2017 version and was well-viewed by subscribers.
Now, according to Samba TV statistics acquired by Variety, Dune was viewed on HBO Max by 1.9 million US households during its opening weekend period from Thursday to Sunday, topping comparable releases like Zack Snyder's Justice League, which was viewed by 1.8 million, and In the Heights, both of which released on Thursdays. However, Dune lagged behind The Suicide Squad, which was viewed by 2.8 million households within the same timeframe.
Warner Bros. has to be pleased with Dune's opening weekend on HBO Max as well as in theaters, considering everything it had going against it. After director David Lynch's disastrous adaptation from 1984, many deemed Herbert's novel unfilmable. Considering that Villeneuve's previous film, Bladerunner 2049, flopped at the box office, many believed his Dune adaptation was primed to disappoint as well, not to mention its release amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which is still clearly preventing audiences from fully returning to theaters.
While the Snyder Cut's performance on HBO Max failed to convince Warner Bros. to restore the Snyderverse, Dune's streaming numbers coupled with its box office gross bodes well for Part 2 of Villeneuve's adaptation, which has yet to be officially greenlit by the studio. Dune has done just about everything it can do to justify a sequel given its positive reviews, encouraging box office gross, and sizable streaming numbers. However, Warner Bros. will likely wait the full month until Dune is done streaming on HBO Max before making a decision regarding Part 2. So far, the numbers look good.
Following Snyder's departure from Justice League, Warner Bros. brought in Joss Whedon to usher the film through post-production, although he ended up conducting extensive rewrites and reshoots, which many believe caused the film to tank at the box office. After a relentless campaign to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut, fans finally got their wish when Zack Snyder's Justice League was released on HBO Max this past March, and the director's original vision was restored. The film was praised as a significant upgrade from the 2017 version and was well-viewed by subscribers.
Now, according to Samba TV statistics acquired by Variety, Dune was viewed on HBO Max by 1.9 million US households during its opening weekend period from Thursday to Sunday, topping comparable releases like Zack Snyder's Justice League, which was viewed by 1.8 million, and In the Heights, both of which released on Thursdays. However, Dune lagged behind The Suicide Squad, which was viewed by 2.8 million households within the same timeframe.
Warner Bros. has to be pleased with Dune's opening weekend on HBO Max as well as in theaters, considering everything it had going against it. After director David Lynch's disastrous adaptation from 1984, many deemed Herbert's novel unfilmable. Considering that Villeneuve's previous film, Bladerunner 2049, flopped at the box office, many believed his Dune adaptation was primed to disappoint as well, not to mention its release amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which is still clearly preventing audiences from fully returning to theaters.
While the Snyder Cut's performance on HBO Max failed to convince Warner Bros. to restore the Snyderverse, Dune's streaming numbers coupled with its box office gross bodes well for Part 2 of Villeneuve's adaptation, which has yet to be officially greenlit by the studio. Dune has done just about everything it can do to justify a sequel given its positive reviews, encouraging box office gross, and sizable streaming numbers. However, Warner Bros. will likely wait the full month until Dune is done streaming on HBO Max before making a decision regarding Part 2. So far, the numbers look good.