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‘Dune: Part Three’ Is Already Outselling ‘The Odyssey’ as Presales Point to a Massive Opening

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The countdown to ‘Dune: Part Three’ has officially shifted into high gear. Denis Villeneuve’s trilogy finale arrives on December 18, and with tickets now on sale, the box office race for the holiday season is well and truly underway. Early indicators suggest Paul Atreides’ final chapter could land as one of the biggest launches of the year.

The film adapts Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune Messiah’, picking up 12 years later with Timothée Chalamet’s Paul ruling as Emperor, married to Florence Pugh’s Princess Irulan while maintaining his relationship with Zendaya’s Chani.

Anya Taylor-Joy, Javier Bardem, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa and Robert Pattinson round out the cast, with Hans Zimmer returning to compose the score. Villeneuve has confirmed this will be the last ‘Dune’ film he makes.

According to tracking from Global Box Office, ticket sales for regular showings of ‘Dune: Part Three’ have gotten off to an excellent start, and the sequel is currently selling better than Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’. The outlet is projecting a domestic opening weekend of more than $100 million, adding that a debut north of $120 million isn’t out of reach.

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That comparison carries serious weight. ‘The Odyssey’ opened to an estimated $124.5 million domestically and $264.1 million worldwide, becoming the biggest global launch of Nolan’s career. If ‘Dune: Part Three’ keeps pace, it could challenge one of the strongest debuts of the year.

The domestic momentum follows an eye-popping result across the Atlantic. London’s BFI IMAX, the largest screen in the UK, sold 33,000 advance tickets for the film in just 24 hours, generating more than £880,000 and setting a new first-day presale record for the venue. That total topped ‘The Odyssey’ at £750,000, ‘Dune: Part Two’ at £366,000, ‘Oppenheimer’ at £254,000 and ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ at £116,000.

The BFI IMAX will screen the film from a 70mm print, with previews beginning on December 15. Before that, the venue will revisit the first 2 films starting December 11, giving fans a chance to catch up on the saga on the big screen.

Part of the excitement comes down to how the film was made. ‘Dune: Part Three’ is the first entry in the franchise shot with a combination of IMAX-certified digital cameras and IMAX film cameras, and it features 71 minutes in IMAX’s expanded 1.90:1 aspect ratio. Not every rollout has gone smoothly, though, with Gizmodo describing the premium-format ticket launch as something of a disaster amid a frenzy that rivaled ‘The Odyssey’.

The biggest wildcard is the competition. ‘Dune: Part Three’ opens on the exact same day as Marvel’s ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, a head-to-head showdown fans have nicknamed “Dunesday,” and neither studio has blinked. Interestingly, Florence Pugh appears to be the only performer appearing in both films.

Villeneuve’s film does hold one major advantage. It secured an exclusive 3-week IMAX window, meaning ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ can’t screen in that format during the sequel’s opening stretch. With those premium screens to itself and presales already breaking records, Warner Bros. and Legendary look well positioned for the clash.

Every previous ‘Avengers’ film has crossed $1 billion worldwide, so the December battle promises to be fascinating. For now, though, the early numbers suggest audiences are more than ready to return to Arrakis one last time.

Do you think Dune: Part Three can beat Avengers: Doomsday at the box office on opening weekend?

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