Last weekend, DUNE: PART TWO enjoyed the best opening weekend of any movie in 2024, in large part due to sold-out shows in premium large-format auditoriums. An amazing 44% of its audience experienced the movie in PLF.
This could have been predicted, especially since Warner Bros.’s pre-release marketing emphasized that DUNE: PART TWO was “Filmed for IMAX.” Because there is a somewhat limited supply of IMAX and other PLF screens, opening weekend grosses were high but capped due to sell-outs for those desirable screenings. DUNE’s Grosses from PLF screenings over the week and on its second weekend remained strong.
During a call with investors on Tuesday, IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond reported that IMAX Theatres “ran out of seats pretty much globally.” During its opening weekend, IMAX theatres worldwide sold $32.2 million in tickets for DUNE: PART TWO, which represents 18% of its overall total. Given that IMAX has only 800 screens globally and that it has yet to open in China or Japan, this gross signals a clear preference by moviegoers to see it in IMAX.
Results for DUNE2 as well as other key special effects-laden releases such as AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER and OPPENHEIMER are pushing exhibitors to create more IMAX installations. Both DUNE movies were filmed with IMAX cameras, which drives up production costs dramatically. Gelfond cited DUNE’s success as a clear justification for studios to create more movies using IMAX technology. Gelfond also says that almost all IMAX locations have locked in their release schedule through summer 2025.