Media company Warner Bros. Discovery WBD could enjoy box office success in 2024 led by the recent strong performance of "Dune: Part Two," which is one of the best-performing movies in recent months.
While it won't show up in the company's financials, the movie's director and movie team also helped make a wish come true for a dying man.
What Happened: The box office performance of "Dune” sequel comes after the movie was delayed due to the Hollywood Strike.
The movie grossed $82.5 million in its opening weekend domestically — the biggest opening weekend for a movie since October's release of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. “Dune: Part Two” grossed $98 million domestically and $100 million internationally, for a global total of $198 million.
Before the film hit theaters nationwide, the highly anticipated sequel was screened six weeks earlier for a movie buff.
According to The Washington Post, the man in his 50s and one of his close friends watched the movie on a laptop belonging to the movie's director, Denis Villeneuve.
The early movie showing happened at a Quebec, Canada-based palliative care facility, which usually houses people with cancer or heart failure.
One of the last wishes of the movie buff was to see the sequel film before he passed away.
People involved had to sign nondisclosure agreements and make sure their phones were not near the laptop.
The Canadian charity L’Avant helped make the moment happen for the patient. "I would like to make some magic for a person at the end of their life," a post from L'Avant read in January in an attempt to reach the Villeneuve.
L'Avant's Josee Gagnon told the media outlet that Vileneuve and his wife Tanya Lapointe, who was an executive producer on the film, responded.
"They told me, ‘It's precisely for him that we make films,'" Gagnon said.
Villeneuve's assistant personally flew to Quebec with the laptop, and the man watched the movie with French subtitles.
Unfortunately, due to his weak state, the patient wasn't able to finish the film which runs for two-hour and 46 minutes. The movie fan died a few days later, "taking the secret of the film with him," Gagnon said.
Related Link: Warner Bros. Discovery Poised for Turnaround With Strong IP and Streaming Strategy, Analyst Says
Why It's Important: Villeneuve may gain some additional fans from the heartwarming story and the movie could also continue to generate positive buzz as it racks up a strong box office performance.
Variety reported the movie opened with a strong 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes and A grade on CinemaScore.
The movie's strong early performance could make the film one of the highest-grossing for the full year. To put the $98 million figure in perspective, the film would currently rank 25th of all 2023 movies.
Imax Corp IMAX could also benefit from the strong performance, with an estimated 48% of domestic moviegoers for "Dune 2" seeing the film in premium large formats. The film grossed $18.5 million from the opening weekend of "Dune 2," good for around 23% of the film's total.
The sequel follows the 2021 film that was released in theaters and on streaming platform HBO Max simultaneously. The film grossed $108.9 million domestically and $433.9 million globally during its theatrical run.
WBD Price Action: Warner Bros. Discovery stock trades at $8.69 versus a 52-week trading range of $8.02 to $15.56.
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