‘Dune’ Stays Atop Box Office as October Sets Pandemic Record

(Bloomberg) -- “Dune,” the cinematic reboot of Frank Herbert’s epic sci-fi novel, kept the No. 1 spot in North American theaters this weekend, even with competition from three new pictures.

• “Dune,” from AT&T Inc.’s Warner Bros, made $15.4 million in its second weekend in the U.S., Comscore Inc. said Monday. Boxoffice Pro, a website that tracks the industry, had forecast $18.4 million.
• The total was enough to beat the anime feature “My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission” from Sony Group Corp.’s Funimation Films, which opened at No. 4 with $6.22 million. “Antlers,” a mystery from Walt Disney Co.’s Searchlight, came in sixth with $4.27 million, and “Last Night in Soho,” a mystery-horror film from Comcast Corp.’s Focus Features, generated $4.18 million for seventh.

Key Insights

• October, with about $638 million in sales, knocked off July as the best month for North American theaters since the onset of the Covid pandemic last year. A key reason: It was jammed with big releases as studios eased a backlog built up early in the pandemic. Several of those movies were geared to younger audiences that may be more comfortable visiting cinemas than older viewers.

• The past five months, including October, have been the busiest for theaters since they reopened, according to Comscore data, and November may continue that trend given the slate of anticipated films, such as “Eternals” from Disney’s Marvel Studios.
• “Dune” debuted simultaneously in North America and on WarnerMedia’s HBO Max service -- one of the last movies the studio has scheduled for such a dual release. Warner Bros. is now planning a sequel to the film, which was co-produced by Legendary Entertainment.

Get More

• See the schedule for upcoming releases.
• See Boxoffice Pro’s long-range forecast.

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