Quebec has not escaped the madness dune. Like everywhere else in the world, Quebec filmmaker Denis Villeneuve's new sci-fi film got off to a roaring start in cinemas across the province.
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Dune: Part II opened last Friday on nearly 230 screens across the province and, according to agency Cinéac, easily climbed to the top of the box office in Quebec, grossing $1,862,192 in its first three days. This is by far the best start to the year in Quebec cinemas.
“The Messiah has arrived, and he also comes from Quebec!” said the co-president of the Association of Quebec Cinema Owners, Éric Bouchard, and referred to the slow start to the year at the box office.
“It's a very strong start. The good news is that I think so [Dune: deuxième partie] will be seen for a very long time. I went to the cinemas on Thursday and Friday and only heard superlatives about the film. This is great for word of mouth. »
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Like our neighbors to the south, Dune: Part II completely crushed the competition in Quebec cinemas, taking 71.6% of the total box office alone. For comparison, the second-place film, “Bob Marley: One Love,” only grossed $140,878 over the weekend.
It's quite rare for a film to gross nearly $2 million in its first weekend in theaters in Quebec. The popular comedy Barbie is one of the most recent productions to achieve this feat, grossing $2,043,648 in its first weekend in theaters across the province last July.
Released in October 2021, the first film in the Dune saga grossed $1.1 million in Quebec cinemas in its first weekend in theaters.
A peak for Villeneuve
The critically acclaimed film “Dune: Part II” caused chaos at the global box office in its first few days in theaters. Denis Villeneuve's film grossed $81.5 million in its first weekend in theaters at the North American box office, more than double what the first film in the saga did when it hit theaters in October 2021.
The film grossed over $178 million worldwide after just a few days in theaters. This is the best start to Denis Villeneuve's career so far.
Recall that the first part of the saga, based on the literary work of Frank Herbert, grossed more than $ 400 million worldwide when it was released in theaters in the fall of 2021.