Dune 2 Opening Weekend Thread [3/01/24 -3/03/24] [82.5m DOM OW]

[AMC Theaters Enjoyer]

Putting West Side Story a week before Spider-Man was also a stupid move that made things worse for it.

[MightyDargon]

Question is whether Zaslav is too stingy to make Messiah. He's killed a lot of projects already.

[M37]

18 minutes ago, Poseidon said:

Well, theater owners should care, because admits sell popcorn and soft drinks.

There will be a breaking point, when higher premium-prices won't make up for the loss of admissions. 

Except its not a linear relationship. A lot of the GA that has been "lost" - whether to streaming or just change in habits - were ones that came just for the show and were far less likely to contribute to the concession revenue. For as much as admissions are way down from post-COVID, food & beverage revenue is not down nearly as much. Yes, some of that is inflation and expanded menu offerings, but we're talking (mostly) about the bottom 25% of the food & beverage spend distribution curve [And before anyone starts, yes there are individual exceptions, but we're talking in the aggregate]

 

The people willing to pay for premium seating prices are far more likely to spend on F&B (and also promotional products). The entire business exhibition model is in the process of shifting to a more upscale, premium experience: PLF screens, full menus & alcohol, etc. Its no longer about selling 100 sodas and popcorn to 300 people, but a full dinner to 100. 

Yes, there is a tipping point when too many people will have been priced out and there just isn't enough foot traffic to sustain revenue, or even too few viewers to sustain the cultural relevance that drives admissions, but we're a long way from that, likely with some more (unknown) changes in the interim

[MightyDargon]

From another perspective, you need a movie that's actually appealing to audiences to make them spend on PLFs. They clearly didn't on things like Marvels.

[WittyUsername]

3 minutes ago, MightyDargon said:

Question is whether Zaslav is too stingy to make Messiah. He's killed a lot of projects already.

Isn’t Legendary providing 75% or so of the finances for these movies, at least in terms of the production budgets? 

[redfirebird2008]

1 minute ago, MightyDargon said:

Question is whether Zaslav is too stingy to make Messiah. He's killed a lot of projects already.

No way they would do that. They’re trying to do everything in their power to keep & acquire as many big time filmmakers as possible. 

[MightyDargon]

Just now, WittyUsername said:

Isn’t Legendary providing 75% or so of the finances for these movies, at least in terms of the production budgets? 

I really don't know, and even Zaslav would probably be intelligent enough to avoid giving Legendary an excuse to take Dune to a studio other than WB, but I don't trust him.

[MightyDargon]

1 minute ago, redfirebird2008 said:

No way they would do that. They’re trying to do everything in their power to keep & acquire as many big time filmmakers as possible. 

Which is why they straight up pissed off every single acclaimed director in the animation side with their Coyote antics.

[Eric Lasagna]

8 minutes ago, MightyDargon said:

Question is whether Zaslav is too stingy to make Messiah. He's killed a lot of projects already.

C'mon man, you know he won't.

[M37]

44 minutes ago, von Kenni said:

Talking about RPO, it had 3.3x DOM legs in 2018 and was released in the latter part of March. The best legs since 2018. Had a bit younger demos than Dune but there's no reason why Dune can't go over 3x legs-wise if the WOM, repeat viewings, and PLF-fueled ATP kick in. How much beyond 3x? I think next weekend can help us a lot on that.

Keep in mind RPO released on Thursday that week. It’s first full 7-days (including Good Fri & Easter Monday), grossed $68M+ for nearly exactly 2.0x OWeek 

 

For comparison purposes, Batman was 2.15x OWeek, driven only a 50% drop in second weekend despite all the EA rolled in (and -47% for full second week)

[redfirebird2008]

Just now, MightyDargon said:

Which is why they straight up pissed off every single acclaimed director in the animation side with their Coyote antics.

I meant live action. Look at the recent deals with Coogler/Jordan, Tom Cruise & Iñárritu, and supposedly trying very hard to get Nolan back. I don’t think pissing off Villeneuve is gonna be part of the WB agenda. 

[Bob Train]

1 minute ago, redfirebird2008 said:

I meant live action. Look at the recent deals with Coogler/Jordan, Tom Cruise & Iñárritu, and supposedly trying very hard to get Nolan back. I don’t think pissing off Villeneuve is gonna be part of the WB agenda. 

Not to mention PTA

[redfirebird2008]

1 minute ago, Bob Train said:

Not to mention PTA

Exactly. PTA & DiCaprio movie is another sign of Warner’s top priority in live action these days. 

 

I think they should try to do something with Fincher. His projects are not crazy expensive, but he has been wasting time with Netflix on his last 2 movies. Supposedly a $25 million budget for Mank. That’s nowhere close to Scorsese demanding $200 million for The Irishman or Flower Moon. 

[Firepower]

1 hour ago, MightyDargon said:

Meh. Ready Player One did 600 something worldwide but that was a popular book. I wouldn't say he's an automatic 500 mil at this point.

Yep and it's not just popular book, but also many popular IP cameos on screen at the same time. It could've been directed by Edgar Wright and would've done nearly the same.

[MightyDargon]

29 minutes ago, redfirebird2008 said:

I meant live action. Look at the recent deals with Coogler/Jordan, Tom Cruise & Iñárritu, and supposedly trying very hard to get Nolan back. I don’t think pissing off Villeneuve is gonna be part of the WB agenda. 

They're not getting Nolan back.

[redfirebird2008]

5 minutes ago, MightyDargon said:

They're not getting Nolan back.

They should not, but who knows. Seems like bad karma on his end if he ditches Universal right after they helped him have massive success with Oppenheimer. 

[keysersoze123]

21 minutes ago, redfirebird2008 said:

They should not, but who knows. Seems like bad karma on his end if he ditches Universal right after they helped him have massive success with Oppenheimer. 

I think it goes 2 ways. Nolan helped Universal as well with this. That said going back to WB sounds crazy anyway. 

[Dominic Draper]

I really tried to like these 2 Dune movies. I want to. But I just don't.

 

I respect the craft and that's about it. The rest I just find so drab, bland and dull. I don't care about the characters. Timothee and Zendaya have absolutely 0 chemistry on screen and play more like siblings. I don't care about the story, or find it interesting. I don't even find it visually appealing because of the desert setting.

 

I let myself buy into the hype for this one and I just walked out confused again. It felt like another part of a story. I thought it would be all the payoff from 1 and make me appreciate 1 more. But I walked out feeling like I got duped into watching a middle chapter.

 

I kept waiting for these epic action scenes, or for Austin butler character to wow me like people were hyping up. And it just never happened. I ended up looking at those people like Stilgar with over the top glazing.

 

I'm happy people are enjoying it but it's not for me.

Edited March 4 by Dominic Draper

[Brainbug]

3 minutes ago, Dominic Draper said:

I really tried to like these 2 Dune movies. I want to. But I just don't.

 

I respect the craft and that's about it. The rest I just find so drab, bland and dull. I don't care about the characters. Timothee and Zendaya have absolutely 0 chemistry on screen and play more like siblings. I don't care about the story, or find it interesting. I don't even find it visually appealing because of the desert setting.

 

I let myself buy into the hype for this one and I just walked out confused again. It felt like another part of a story. I thought it would be all the payoff from 1 and make me appreciate 1 more. But I walked out feeling like I got duped into watching a middle chapter.

 

I kept waiting for these epic action scenes, or for Austin butler character to wow me like people were hyping up. And it just never happened. I ended up looking at those people like Stilgar with over the top glazing.

 

I'm happy people are enjoying it but it's not for me.

 

I mean theres people that hate LOTR. Ive heard some people say that Jurassic Park is a snoozefest. I personally hate Titanic and have made myself unpopular with this take on these boards a few times.

 

No movie ever will please everyone and thats completely fine i think. Though im ofc sad to hear that the Dune movies are not your cup of tea.

[Brainbug]

57 minutes ago, keysersoze123 said:

I think it goes 2 ways. Nolan helped Universal as well with this. That said going back to WB sounds crazy anyway. 

 

I think Nolans divorce with WB is a permanent thing after that falling out. And especially after Oppenheimer, Universal will surely want to ensure Nolan stays on their boat.