Dune rides Halloween weekend wave for repeat box office win

October 31, 2021 Jeffrey Lyles 0 Comments Dune, Halloween Kills

Dune retained its box office crown with $15.5 million.

The big Warner Bros./Legendary epic has racked up nearly $70 million domestically and more than $250 million worldwide. That was enough for the studios to approve an October 2023 sequel.

Dune is the latest film to find a measure of success with the day/date release approach. Movie theaters are still a tricky proposition for some audience members and this strategy allows leery moviegoers to still see the major films coming from studios.

Four new films failed to make much of a dent at the box office, which is still facing weaker numbers as COVID remains a deterrent.

My Hero Academia: World Heroes Mission has the biggest success with $6.5 million with its opening in 1,600 theaters. Funimation’s latest fared better then last year’s My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, which brought in $5.8 million just before the pandemic broke in February 2020.

Antlers and Last Night in Soho tied for sixth $4.2 million, which is likely disappointing given their horror themes on Halloween weekend.

Those releases were probably affected by Halloween Kills, which slayed the horror competition with $8.5 million for a second place finish. That gives the latest chapter in the Halloween franchise to $85 million domestically and a global haul of $115 million.

In third place was No Time to Die. The latest James Bond film brought in $7.8 million taking its tally to $133 million domestically.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage rounded out the top 5 with another $5.75 million to take its domestic total to $190 million. Venom likely won’t have enough momentum left to overtake Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which remains 2021’s highest grossing film with $222 million.