by Conan Simmons – October 25, 2021 – 6:54 pm
The hyped up and highly anticipated science fiction epic ‘Dune’ hit theaters over the weekend surpassing estimates from box office analysts who predicted the film would take in $30-$35 million. ‘Dune’ did better than that raking in $40.1 million, which is less than On Genre estimated last week when I claimed the film would hit the $50 million mark. Even as the day-and-date release on HBO Max cannibalized theatrical ticket sales the film has done well enough, when coupled with the well over $100 million it has made overseas, to ensure that Warner Bros. will greenlight the expected sequel. The inside word is the film already has the greenlight with the official public announcement to made soon.
Director Denis Villeneuve, whose previous works include ‘Blade Runner 2049’ and ‘Arrival’, rounded up a stellar cast consisting of Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Zendaya, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Javier Bardem and Charlotte Rampling, in order to make an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s popular 1965 novel. Expectations were somewhat skeptical since the previous big screen adaptation was the 1984 box office bomb directed by Alan Smithee, the popular pseudonym used when director’s don’t want the credit, after David Lynch objected to studio interference. There is also a documentary about a failed earlier attempt to adapt the novel to the screen by Chilean surrealist Alejandro Jodorowsky which is worth checking out.
The only other wide release over the weekend was the animated film ‘Ron’s Gone Wrong’ which bombed with a take of $7.3 million. The film didn’t have too much publicity around it and in what ads were shown the android character looked like a miniature ‘Big Hero 6’ which apparently has nothing to do with this film.
Keeping with a theme of sci-fi action heroes, the rest of the Weekend Box Office Top 5 is rounded out by holdovers ‘No Time to Die’, ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ and ‘Halloween Kills’.
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE TOP 5 (October 22-24, 2021)
- ‘Dune’ – $40.1 million – science fiction (debut)
- ‘Halloween Kills’ – $14.5 million – horror (drop $35.9 million, 71% down)
- ‘No Time to Die’ – $11.9 million – action (drop $12.4 million, 51% down)
- ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ – $9.1 million – fantasy (drop $7.5, 45% down)
- ‘Ron’s Gone Wrong’ – $7.2 million – animated (debut)
Total for the Weekend Box Office Top 5 comes to $82.9 million. This is a drop of 20%, for $20.3 million down from last weekends total of $103.2 million.
Outside of wide releases, Wes Anderson’s latest film ‘The French Dispatch’ is making waves at the arthouse theaters. The film opens wide next weekend opposite Edgar Wright’s twisted, giallo inspired ‘Last Night in Soho’ starring Anya Taylor-Joy and the Guillermo del Toro produced horror film, ‘Antlers’.
As good as those films may be, don’t expect too much of a boost at the box office until Marvel releases ‘Eternals’ on November 5. The film is already receiving positive reviews and, like all movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, uses its post-credit scenes to set up forthcoming installments.
‘Clifford the Big Red Dog’ will be running amok in theaters when it opens wide on Wednesday, November 10. The film had previously been set for a September release following a planned debut at the Toronto Film Festival. When Paramount pulled the film from the festival and release the studio claimed it would not release anymore films for the remainder of 2021. That decision has since been reversed and ‘Clifford the Big Red Dog’ will be a day-and-date release on Paramount+ streaming service. There are early showings being made available in theaters this weekend with a 10:30 am start time on Saturday, October 30.
Director Kenneth Branagh will debut his Oscar buzzing memory piece, ‘Belfast’ into wide release in theaters on November 12. ‘Belfast’ is an early front runner for the Best Picture Oscar rivalled currently by Jane Campion’s western ‘Power of the Dog’. Branagh’s ‘Belfast’ also marks a continuation in a trend of top directors making memory pieces beginning with Alfonso Cuarón’s ‘Roma’ and Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’, the trend will continue in the months to follow with Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Licorice Pizza’ starring Bradley Cooper, Tom Waits and Sean Penn, and the currently filming ‘The Fabelmans’ directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Paul Dano and Julia Butters from ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’.