At the international box office this weekend, Dune continues to make noise ahead of its domestic debut next month. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune comes with some high expectations attached to it. The Oscar-nominated director is well known for his expert handling of cerebral sci-fi stories (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049), so he seems like the ideal person to tackle Frank Herbert’s iconic 1965 novel. However, Dune still boasts a sizable budget and is working with a source material that many have struggled with in the past. There’s much interest in seeing how the movie will perform when it debuts in U.S. theaters in late October (It will also be available via HBO Max for free).
So far, though, Dune is proving to be a success overseas. Last weekend, the movie earned $36.8 million from 24 markets, a figure that put it on track to surpass comparable big-budget tentpoles. Villeneuve has planned on making at least two Dune movies, but the creation of the second depends on the first’s performance. Though Warner Bros. appears to be putting more emphasis on streaming, Dune still needs to make an impact at the box office to be deemed a success.