Dune opened to a happy $40.1 million domestic on its opening weekend. These numbers may not have broken any pandemic records, but they were enough to keep the studio happy as it has already earned its necessary sequel. But what about the virtual numbers? Thanks to the day-and-date release strategy, the traditional box office is only one piece of the puzzle. The HBO Max numbers for Dune are here, and it’s proving to land where we expected it to.
What Do The HBO Max Numbers Say About Dune?
Samba TV, a TV analytics firm, has found that an impressive 1.9 million households viewed Dune during its opening weekend. This number puts the film ahead of HBO Max premieres, including Zack Snyder’s Justice League and In the Heights, which had 1.8 million and 700,000 viewers, respectively, on the first few days. However, it does stand quite a long way down from the opening numbers for The Suicide Squad, which opened to 2.8 million viewers.
Fans of theater-only premieres, especially the film’s director, Denis Villeneuve, will be happier to hear that we won’t need to report on these numbers in 2023. The sequel will have an exclusive theatrical window to start, and it won’t find its way to the streaming service for at least a few weeks.
The competition preparing for battle. Image via HBO Max.
Are Streaming Numbers Hurting The Film?
Entering into the film’s second weekend at the domestic box office and a little bit later for many overseas markets, Dune has found a total of $241 million. This surpasses its production budget of $165 million. We don’t know the exact breakeven point for the film, but this number will typically fall at 2x or 3x the production budget for most major films. So, the closer the film gets to making $500 million, the better its odds at earning its keep.
Can Dune make it this far? Second-weekend predictions are saying that $15.5 million is likely. This marks a drop of 62%, which isn’t terrible considering the dual release strategy. Meanwhile, the overseas numbers are holding up well. If it continues to make more money in China, the film could potentially sail to $400 million and beyond.
Streaming numbers have automatically lowered the film’s box office potential, no matter what the final sum is. There is less of an urgency to leave the house and head to theaters when it’s already available at the touch of your finger. But this is the nature of pandemic releases, and we only hope that the sequel has an easier time navigating numbers.
You can still contribute to the HBO Max or theater numbers for Dune, which is in theaters now.
Readers, let us know if you streamed Dune at home or went to the theater. And if you did both, then let us know how your viewing experiences changed!
Featured image via Warner Bros.