DUNE (Part 1 Spoilers and News)

[SpaceChampion]

It's a gift to Kevin Feige because now The Marvels can actually get IMAX screens, when before Dune 2 had already booked those up.

[Calibandar]

1 hour ago, Rhom said:

I went with a buddy to go see it.  I didn't realize he hadn't read the book until after we left the theater.  He liked it more than I would have expected based on the lack of knowledge.  I loved the visuals of the movie, but it felt incomplete.  I've said it before in this thread, but when it ended I was stunned how they decided to conclude the movie without a guarantee of a sequel at the time.

It depends on how much you look forward to this film how much it bothers you I think. I see from your reaction you didnt really care for, whereas for me this is the most anticipated film in... I guess the last 2 years. 

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

8 hours ago, IlyaP said:

Today I learned there was a band called Cinderella. Man. Glam rock. The 80s look like they were wild. 

You didn’t know? Oh gawd, “Don’t know what you got…” is probably still a regular slow dance number at school dances today. They still have school dances don’t they?

6 hours ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

Umm or maybe they want to ensure the movie’s success to the maximum,which does rely to a certain extent on marketing the film with the celebs who star in it and have a large fan following/reach,  in the form of :

talk shows/interviews/YouTube/wired videos /social media etc and a global premiere ? 

I think the studios care more about return on profit than spiting SAG-AFTRA tbh. Just an opinion. Especially when the films budget is already large and they need to maximise box office returns. 

It also costs them money to delay it. Interest alone will be a few million. Plus they have to retool their marketing campaign. 

1 hour ago, Rhom said:

First movie did $402 million.  Only $108 domestically.

I don't think that counts as a guaranteed "massive" return.  They need to maximize this to the fullest.  I'm okay with a delay to get full promotion.

Yeah, no way they’ll just put this out without it. Although I think part two will do a lot more than part 1. 

[hauberk]

20 minutes ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

It also costs them money to delay it. Interest alone will be a few million. Plus they have to retool their marketing campaign. 

Studio accountants will put that loss on the ledger when calculating percentages and residuals to the actors and writers.

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

31 minutes ago, hauberk said:

Studio accountants will put that loss on the ledger when calculating percentages and residuals to the actors and writers.

On the bright side, because delays cost money, now that the strike has gone on long enough for that to happen, the studios will be more motivated to negotiate to end the strike. 

I honestly have no idea what’s happening on that front. I have my own job problems right now. I don’t need to add other peoples problems on top.

[Rhom]

2 hours ago, Calibandar said:

It depends on how much you look forward to this film how much it bothers you I think. I see from your reaction you didnt really care for, whereas for me this is the most anticipated film in... I guess the last 2 years. 

Did I say I didn't like it?  I thought it was visually stunning and a nice adaptation of the first part of the book... but that's the problem with it as it stood, it was only the build up part of the book and left out entirely any individual climax for the movie as a standalone; which since it wasn't ever guaranteed a sequel made it feel empty at the end.  

I'll be absolutely certain to go see this in theater opening week.

What I was pointing out was the fallacy in your statement that the sequel is going to be a "massive" success.  It may.  I promise I will enjoy it. But I think its more likely to be a modest success amongst the general public.

[Zorral]

The longer before the sequel comes out the less interest for it there will be.

[Calibandar]

3 hours ago, Rhom said:

Did I say I didn't like it?  I thought it was visually stunning and a nice adaptation of the first part of the book... but that's the problem with it as it stood, it was only the build up part of the book and left out entirely any individual climax for the movie as a standalone; which since it wasn't ever guaranteed a sequel made it feel empty at the end.  

I'll be absolutely certain to go see this in theater opening week.

What I was pointing out was the fallacy in your statement that the sequel is going to be a "massive" success.  It may.  I promise I will enjoy it. But I think its more likely to be a modest success amongst the general public.

Yes I think the second film will be a massive success. I see no fallacy there, just your opinion that the first one didnt do well enough to meet your standards, and personally, having seen how highly anticipated this film is among many I know and a generally captivated audience after the first one, I do think the second film be huge sales wise as well. We shall have tot wait ( a long while thanks to Warner Bros) and find out.

And yes you did come across as though you weren't really keen on seeing it anyway.

[Rhom]

42 minutes ago, Calibandar said:

just your opinion that the first one didnt do well enough to meet your standards, 

Well, it obviously did well enough to meet someone’s standards for a sequel.  So for that I’m grateful.

But again, I wouldn’t say it’s my opinion when it was outperformed by Jungle Cruise and the worst MCU film since Thor 2.   Those are pretty objective standards.

I think you also have to be careful of living in an echo chamber when it comes to hearing anticipation.  The general public won’t know anything of this movie until the ads start running during the Super Bowl and such.  It’s something I’ve been guilty of before as well.

[polishgenius]

4 hours ago, Calibandar said:

And yes you did come across as though you weren't really keen on seeing it anyway.

No he didn't.

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

I’ll admit it is a bit fishy though that Warner hasn’t shifted any other big budget films of theirs to next year as well. 

Edited August 26, 2023 by Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

16 hours ago, Rhom said:

It was the 13th highest grossing film of 2021.

It was surpassed by such icons of cinema as Eternals... Ghostbusters: Afterlife... and Jungle Cruise.

You and I may have a different definition of "massive." 

Dune was the first time I’d been to a theater post-2020. When I saw it the theaters in my area still had distancing protocols in place. A sold-out screening would have been 25% full.

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

4 hours ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

I’ll admit it is a bit fishy though that Warner hasn’t shifted any other big budget films of theirs to next year as well. 

It might have something to do with these films having already been delayed due to the pandemic. Aside from Aquaman 2* what do they have?

*that one’s been pushed back a few times already. Yeah, its going to flop anyway.

[Heartofice]

9 hours ago, Calibandar said:

having seen how highly anticipated this film is among many I know and a generally captivated audience after the first one, I do think the second film be huge sales wise as well.

This does sound a bit like an echo chamber talking to me. I’m sure there are a lot of highly motivated fans, but the movie didn’t perform massively well, and I doubt there is huge buzz in the mainstream for the sequel. I’m not sure where the new fans who didn’t watch it the first time are coming from, becauee that’s what it will take. Unless it was some massive underground hit on streaming it’s not pulling in millions more people who didn’t go to see the first movie. 

[Week]

8 hours ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

Dune was the first time I’d been to a theater post-2020. When I saw it the theaters in my area still had distancing protocols in place. A sold-out screening would have been 25% full.

I was definitely not going to a theater at that point in 2021 (also the two nicest theaters within walking distance closed permanently) and the film was streaming on HBOMax (RIP). It's notable that the film did as well as it did under those circumstances.

[Rhom]

9 hours ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

Dune was the first time I’d been to a theater post-2020. When I saw it the theaters in my area still had distancing protocols in place. A sold-out screening would have been 25% full.

 

50 minutes ago, Week said:

I was definitely not going to a theater at that point in 2021 (also the two nicest theaters within walking distance closed permanently) and the film was streaming on HBOMax (RIP). It's notable that the film did as well as it did under those circumstances.

I want to say this gently because no one wins with a debate about the pandemic at this point... but again, I think there's an echo chamber effect here.  Very few people in my area were worried about going to the theater by October of 2021 and there were certainly no seating restrictions.  Maybe there were more in your area.  But numbers are numbers.

Go back to the link I posted with the top earners of 2021.  Again, Dune was 13th.  Of the 12 in front of it, seven released earlier in the year.  Two others released in October (and also, number 14 Halloween Kills released in October as well).  And the other three ahead of it released in Nov/Dec that year.

So while we can argue that had Dune been released in a time frame that was not so closely post-pandemic it might have done better than it actually did... it doesn't change the fact that it performed less than its contemporaries released in the same environment.

I sincerely hope that Dune 2 does better than the original.  And I believe that there is a very good chance that it will now that theaters are more open.  By comparison, Dune's $102 domestic box office would put it in 20th place for 2023 so far this year.  (Right between The Flash and M3GAN.)  I think a good performance for it would be a top ten film for the year, which this year would mean $175m ish.  (Right between Sound of Freedom and Indiana Jones and the Slipped Disc.)  That feels about right to me.  $175 to $200m domestic.  

[Calibandar]

Its funny how the echo chamber effect only is an echo chamber when it disagrees with your premise.

Classic example of "everybody is a hero in their own movie" theory

Anyways, when Dune 1 came out in 2021 there were definitely still covid effects taking place in society and in moviegoing attendance. Certainly here in Europe, there's no question that it affected the sales of Dune and other films. For that alone I would expect higher numbers next time, but also I think anticipation and interest for the film will be high anyway based on what I see and hear, and that this is a huge property being well marketed.

[Zorral]

2 hours ago, Rhom said:

Very few people in my area were worried about going to the theater by October of 2021 and there were certainly no seating restrictions

Your area is very different from mine, for instance. In 2021 we were still having early hours for restaurants, needing to show proof of vaccination to even enter a restaurant, movie theaters weren't even open until  March 5.  We reopened the schools in September and by November, with cases in general population and among students and teachers so high, they shut down in person classrooms again after only 8 weeks.

Also, in your area right now -- if you are in Kentucky as listed under your member name -- as of the very reopening days of school there, classes had to be canceled in some districts due to lack of attendance by students and teachers due to covid infections and other infections as well.

This disease is not a joke.

 

[Rhom]

Again, the question is about the movie as compared to its contemporaries.  Look at the numbers and compare to performance against other movies released in the same time frame.

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

3 hours ago, Rhom said:

Again, the question is about the movie as compared to its contemporaries.  Look at the numbers and compare to performance against other movies released in the same time frame.

Take a look at that list again. How many of the films ahead of it (in domestic gross) were non-sequels?* I count two. And, despite the advantage of having Ryan Reynolds’ and The Rock’s star power, both finished their domestic run within 10% of Dune**. ‘Might be relevant. 

ETA: Thank you for being gentle.

9 hours ago, Week said:

I was definitely not going to a theater at that point in 2021 (also the two nicest theaters within walking distance closed permanently) and the film was streaming on HBOMax (RIP). It's notable that the film did as well as it did under those circumstances.

Did it get a simultaneous release on HBOMax? That would definitely have an impact. 

Anyway, now that the first film has the benefit of awards recognition and a Netflix streaming release, I think Dune Pt 2 will do much better than Dune Pt 1. Maybe in a similar proportion as the first and second spider-verse films.

Anecdotally, one of my nieces wants to see it. She hasn’t seen part 1 but she is reading the book.

*The MCU films are all sequels at this point. That includes Black Widow and Shang Chi. 
** Dune’s world wide box office exceeded Jungle Cruise and Freeguy.

Edited August 27, 2023 by Deadlines? What Deadlines?