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'Dune 2' Beaten by 'Godzilla x Kong' (deadline.com) 61

Posted by EditorDavid from the new-empires dept.
Godzilla x Kong "stomped all over expectations," writes Deadline, "with an $80M opening, the second best start of the year so far, $2.5M behind the $82.5M opening of Legendary's other big pic this spring, Dune: Part Two...

"EntTelligence reports that GxK is expected to pull in more than 5.5M admissions this weekend, the most attended opening weekend for any movie year-to-date." No one saw this coming... International delivered $114M for a great $194M global start. The Adam Wingard directed movie, not including preview night, commanded 56% of all foot traffic and 89% of all premium format admissions. Imax and PLF drove 38% of the gross with 3D responsible for 19%... Beamed Warner Bros Domestic Distribution Boss Jeff Goldstein, "This is a huge, fun Easter movie for the whole family...." For a fifthquel to bounce back the franchise, GxK being the second best start in the Legendary Monsterverse after Godzilla's $93.1M ten years ago, is pretty remarkable.
The article speculates that the first installments (of both the Dune and Godzilla vs. Kong franchise) underperformed because of their mid-pandemic release dates, with their sequels earning more in 2024. The pure theatricality of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire "clearly underscores the value of the IP on the big screen, and moviegoers' preference to see such monster mashing in no other place but a theater." (Deadline calls the movie "a really fun creature feature with a lot of heart; heck, it's even better than Jurassic World: Dominion. Seriously.")

It also earned "the fifth best Easter weekend opening ever," the article points out, coming in behind Batman v. Superman ($181M), Super Mario Bros Movie ($166.4M), Furious 7 ($161.2M) and The Fate of the Furious ($107.3M), according to the article. Their headline? "They Have Risen: 'Godzilla x Kong' Conquers Easter Box Office..."
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'Dune 2' Beaten by 'Godzilla x Kong' More

'Dune 2' Beaten by 'Godzilla x Kong'

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  • Godzilla v Kong was ok (Score:3)

    by iAmWaySmarterThanYou ( 10095012 ) on Sunday March 31, 2024 @12:50PM (#64358960)

    No plot spoilers here. Minor conceptual spoilers.

    Saw it last night. When I got home I watched a bunch of the others before it. It wasn't stand out but was alright.

    If you already saw and liked the first Dune then you'd like the sequel more than GvK.

    I do find the Kong depictions a bit annoying in all these films. They always talk about he's one of the most powerful titans blah blah blah but he's always getting his ass kicked by everyone else of note and needs humans or some other titan to save him. In comparison, Godzilla is pretty much, "Oh hey, I want to go kill that titan over there for XYZ reason" and he just does it as a side scene.

    Oh, the movie also did some odd size shifting where the various titans were much bigger or smaller in different scenes but mostly that was ignorable.

    • Re:Godzilla v Kong was ok (Score:5, Funny)

      by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Sunday March 31, 2024 @12:56PM (#64358972)

      I do find the Kong depictions a bit annoying in all these films. They always talk about he's one of the most powerful titans blah blah blah but he's always getting his ass kicked by everyone else of note and needs humans or some other titan to save him.

      Recent directors have tried to make Kong more relatable so that, hopefully, he can finally get that Best Lead Actor nod for which he's been notoriously snubbed all these years.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by PPH ( 736903 )

      Call me when Alien vs Sharknado hits the theaters.

      Come to think of it: The possible combinations should keep writers busy for decades. Dune vs Predator. Godzilla vs Mrs Doubtfire. ....

      • can't have the last one - he is in drag and it will offend the anti drag snowflake crowd.

      • Call me when Alien vs Sharknado hits the theaters.

        Come to think of it: The possible combinations should keep writers busy for decades. Dune vs Predator. Godzilla vs Mrs Doubtfire. ....

        You forgot the truly important one, and one that's bound to come up again: Beetlejuice vs. Dune Sandworm.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ls671 ( 1122017 )

      Hey! At least I see they've got the first plausible alternative explanation for climate change that I ever heard of:
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

      In the film, Kong encounters more of his species in the Hollow Earth and must unite with Godzilla to stop their tyrannical leader and a powerful, climate-changing Titan from destroying the surface.

  • Went to the Imax for Dune 2 (was amazing), I thought the trailer for Godzilla x Kong looked quite bad. I mean, like annoyingly cgi-ish (and I liked the 2014 godzilla) - especially the scenes with multiple apes or that "baby" one, so I thought just the people who are quite into Kaiju style stuff would be flocking to the cinemas. I guess I was wrong, still not going to watch it myself :)

  • Nitpick about subject line (Score:3)

    by Misagon ( 1135 ) on Sunday March 31, 2024 @01:05PM (#64358992)

    The film is "Dune: Part 2", as it is part 2 of an adaptation of the novel Dune by Frank Herbert.

    Dune II [wikipedia.org] is a computer game, often being called the first modern Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game). It was also based on the novel, with a little inspiration from the flm-adaptation that Lynch directed. It is a sequel to a game that more closely followed the book in a more linear fashion, having only some real-time strategy elements

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by antdude ( 79039 )

      Dune 2 RTS game was cool. I tried to replay it like a decade ago, but geez it was so primitive after playing newer RTS games like C&C.

    • Sequel (noun)

      a published, broadcast, or recorded work that continues the story or develops the theme of an earlier one.

      Dune II (the game) is not a sequel to Dune (the game), regardless of what Wikipedia says. These are two quite different games, made independently by two different developer houses, with different gameplay and with no plot continuity between them, except both being based to a degree on Dune (the book). With the same success you could say that Dune was a sequel to Dune II. In fact, during development these games were both named "Dune" until it became clear that one of them would be released slightly earlier;

  • Is Non-Iodized Salt Causing This? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by theshowmecanuck ( 703852 ) on Sunday March 31, 2024 @01:06PM (#64358994) Journal
    Everyone should know that the greatest fast increase in the general IQ of people in the world was when salt was iodized, thus preventing the main cause of cretinism. Lately we are seeing this silly rise in 'sea salt' (all NaCl we eat has been in a sea at some point), 'kosher salt", "pink salt", etc. with the big marketing point of not being iodized. This has been going on for a couple decades. I can only think that the popularity of shit B movies with characters like King Kong, Godzilla, and comic book characters must be because of diminishing intelligence. This is one of the few things that does correlate with the rise a shit movies. How I wish for the return of movies with human characters, human relatable stories and character development, and actual plots in a human based world.

    • Re:Is Non-Iodized Salt Causing This? (Score:4, Funny)

      by ArchieBunker ( 132337 ) on Sunday March 31, 2024 @01:20PM (#64359036)

      Your ideas intrigue me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

      • I think you may want to consult Ripper's Precious Bodily Fluids newsletter from the 1960s. He discusses the hazards and politics behind the introduction of reactive nonmetal supplements to the body. Its a keystone piece of work on the topic.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by HBI ( 10338492 )

      Are you seeing a lot of goiters? I'm not.

    • Lately we are seeing this silly rise in 'sea salt' (all NaCl we eat has been in a sea at some point), 'kosher salt", "pink salt", etc. with the big marketing point of not being iodized. This has been going on for a couple decades. I can only think that the popularity of shit B movies with characters like King Kong, Godzilla, and comic book characters must be because of diminishing intelligence.

      Nonsense, I only eat pink sea salt and I still think real good.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by r1348 ( 2567295 )

      Big, dumb movies have always been popular, there's nothing new there. The highest-grossing movie ever is still Avatar, not exactly a brain teaser. Barbie outsold Oppenheimer.

    • I can only think that the popularity of shit B movies with characters like King Kong, Godzilla, and comic book characters must be because of diminishing intelligence.

      Huh? God forbid people watch something for entertainment. Go back to the History Channel you judgemental arse. Not everyone wants to watch some mind exercising Oscar award winner every damn time.

    • Mostly the cause is all the Imax-type screens were re-dedicated to GxK. Dune part 2 advertising was aimed at getting people to watch it on those screens so it's legs are now gone.
    • Don't worry. Industrial foods use the iodized salt. So while you might avoid iodine in your organic home-cooked meals, you'll still get it in your bread, your bacon and your fast-food.

  • In related news (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    McDonald's sold a shitload of hamburgers this quarter

  • Dune isn't really a story that translates well to a visual media. There are so many things that are going on that are political that are just explained in the dialogue.
    • Sci-fi's Children Of Dune did a good job, though that was adapting books 2 and 3.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by drnb ( 2434720 )

        Sci-fi's Children Of Dune did a good job, though that was adapting books 2 and 3.

        True, but it was a miniseries and that helped. If someone is interested in giving this miniseries a try, be forewarned that it is done on a sci-fi channel cable tv budget, not an IMAX ready theatre spectacular budget. Nothing wrong with this, but some people oddly criticize the special effects.

    • Dune isn't really a story that translates well to a visual media.

      Have to totally disagree on that front, especially after watching the recent movies.

      Both Dune 1 and Dune 2 have so many amazing visuals...

      Yes it is a highly political story but you can indicate those aspects visually which I think the new movies do a good job of.

      • Do they have good visuals though? Yes, Villeneuve can do âoebigâ but when I saw Part 2 last week I found myself wondering where the opulence of the Emperorâ(TM)s palace was, why he was content with a throne room decked out in bare concrete and why the panning shot of the Harkonnen arena looked like a cutscene from Dune 2000. Speaking of the Emperor, whoever designed his costume needs a kick up the arse if they ever make a Part 3. (Seems likely to me given how they left things with Chani.)

        Mayb

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by drnb ( 2434720 )

          resembled alpha versions of games where most of the map geometry was done but the art department still had half of the assets left to do.

          You should see the games when they still have "programmer art", the stand-ins the programmers create so they are not stalled waiting for real art assets.

          "Programmer art" is actually a pretty useful thing in the end, if you can make a game fun with "programmer art" you are likely golden. Good art can distract you from bad design and bad code. Or in the movie context bad writing and bad acting.

      • But the story is about the politics happening, not the visuals The visuals add nothing to the story.

    • Dune isn't really a story that translates well to a visual media.

      IDK, I never visualized ornithopters very well in various sci fi books. DII totally owns the ornithopter concept now.

      There are so many things that are going on that are political that are just explained in the dialogue.

      I think there are a few political lessons and opinions in the book dialogue too. I recall the first reading of the first half of the book tiresome at times. The second half fixed that and made me appreciate the first half on subsequent readings.

  • I found Dune Pt II a very boring disappointment compared to Pt I.

    The new MUTO movie doesn't look very good, but it will deliver giant monster fights and would have to be extraordinarily bad to fail to find its audience.

    I'm not surprised the latter is quickly overtaking the former... Which has already been out for a month.

  • Are a hard sell. Big fights on big screens always sell more. Look at the MCU. Some MCU movies had great stories, but alot have the same story or even no story. especially in the latest iterations, but they still get money at the box office. I'm always surprised how Interstellar didn't do butloads of money, but that movie is one of the greatest scifi stories in my lifetime. I, myself, loved the previous Kong v Godzilla, not because the story was amazing, but the aircraft carrier fight was worth the entire wa

  • I guess we're back to business as usual (Score:3)

    by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Sunday March 31, 2024 @01:29PM (#64359068)

    Flashy, gimmicky effects trump a script that doesn't fit on a napkin.

  • but I watched Dune I and I found it really awful: Timothy Chalamet is to Paul Atreides what tofu is to meat, Jessica Ferguson has about as much acting range as a lettuce and Oscar Isaac - the only Star Wars character ever to manage the feat of making Jar Jar not so annoying after all - is as convincing a Duke Leto as Cheech Marin would have been.

    It's truly a mystery to me how Villeneuve managed to make such a meh Dune after his absolute Blade Runner 2049 masterpiece. I expected so much of him after Blade Ru

    • I had the same thoughts when I watched the first part. It all looked good but the acting would have been better with wooden puppets. Been a while since I watched such a boring movie.

      I hadn't noticed the link to Blade Runner 2049, but now I see why I didn't like it in much the same way (being a replicant was not enough of an excuse). The original is one of my favourite movies, but 2049 is as real to me as those mythical pre and post trilogies of Star Wars that I have heard about, but can't find anywhere.

    • I didn't like it either. I found it cold and simply didn't care about any of the characters. TBH I have pretty much had it with Villeneuve films. They have a lot of technical brilliancy but are not entertaining.

      • Have you seen Arrival ? I thought it was quite good.
        I also liked Blade Runner 2049.
        Dune part I was a bit boring. Have not seen part II yet.

        • Both of those suffered the same problem IMO. Technically sophisticated but emotionally flat and unsatisfying.

          • Both of those suffered the same problem IMO. Technically sophisticated but emotionally flat and unsatisfying.

            "Emotionally flat" I think is what get from his films. It's like he picked one set of human emotions: bland, sterile, empty vibes of a complete lack of hope, and somehow turned it into a visual style that never lets up. It's like taking the blandness of the day-to-day we all hate living through and turning it into movies. Which is a talent to be sure. And I totally get why the Hollywood elite love it. It gives them a glimpse of a bland existence they'll never experience. But for the rest of us, living that

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by gaws ( 10083464 )

      You don't watch Villeneuve films for the acting or script. You watch them for the visuals.

  • ...how nature points out the folly of man: Gozilla! --Blue Oyster Cult

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by drnb ( 2434720 )

      ...how nature points out the folly of man: Gozilla! --Blue Oyster Cult

      But not woman, or at least not Joan Crawford. She kick's Godzilla's ass.

  • Godzilla vs. Paw Patrol to come out. I hear it's got better plot depth & character development.

    • Godzilla vs. Paw Patrol to come out. I hear it's got better plot depth & character development.

      Clifford the Big Red Dog deserves his Kaiju moment.

  • Summary Contradicts Headline? (Score:3)

    by SeaFox ( 739806 ) on Sunday March 31, 2024 @03:28PM (#64359308)

    Headline: "'Dune 2' Beaten by 'Godzilla x Kong'"

    First sentence of summary: "with an $80M opening... $2.5M behind the $82.5M opening of.. Dune: Part Two"

  • Godzilla and Kong taking on sandworms!

  • Dune is way too cerebral for me. Movies have gotten more and more stupid and you're expected to have a higher and higher IQ to even watch them. I don't need to activate all my neural nets for the sole purpose of entertainment and dopamine release, that's dumb.

  • Godzilla and Kong makes for more popcorn movies and one can easily understand why they draw a larger audience. Dune, even if dumbed down compared with the books, is still a more cerebral story needing some effort to understand it. Disclaimer: saw Dune, have no interest in Godzilla.

  • Godzilla Minus One really highlighted for me just how mediocre every single American made Godzilla movie has been. I'm not saying it's the best movie ever or anything but it was really impressive what the movie's Japanese creators accomplished with such a modest budget, a movie that looks just about as good as any American one but with a script that seems like it was written by an actual professional writer. Given the bore that every American made Godzilla movie has been I'm just baffled by this strong box

  • I *DO* want to see Godzilla Minus One, but the asshole studio said no, we won't let you complete with our crap.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by gaws ( 10083464 )

      Godzilla Minus One will be out for streaming in due time. What's a little more waiting?

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