AT&T's Warner takes shot at October box office win with 'Dune'
A relatively quiet September for new movie releases gave way to a much hotter October, with weekly $50 million-plus splashes from Venom: Let There Be Carnage $Sony(SONY.US$, James Bond film No Time To Die and Halloween Kills $Comcast(CMCSA.US$.
Now, before another slight pre-holiday lull, it's WarnerMedia's $AT&T(T.US$ turn with heavily postponed sci-fi epic Dune - the latest version of a story written in 1965 by Frank Herbert. And it's also the latest film to mark a data point in WarnerMedia's controversial strategy to release all of its 2021 films simultaneously on HBO Max. That resulted in disappointing sub-$5 million openings recently for Warner films Cry Macho and Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark.
Dune features several name stars in its cast but is also a cinematically tough story to deliver. A 1984 adaptation directed by David Lynch grossed just short of $31 million in total and drew critically mixed reactions; the new film hopes to clear $31 million in its opening weekend and outpace Halloween Kills, which could still have some mojo a week ahead of the Halloween holiday.
It's drawn $130 million internationally, where it had a few weeks' head start - though in those countries it's a theatrical exclusive rather than sharing with HBO Max.
Dune faces little competition from the other wide release, animated feature Ron's Gone Wrong $Disney(DIS.US$, which joins The Addams Family 2 to offer animated fare in theaters.
And the notable limited release of the week is Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch, also delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It should provide an arthouse hit even if it doesn't end up getting the wide release it needs to keep up with Anderson's last film, Isle of Dogs, which grossed $64 million worldwide.
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