Despite a large drop, Dune is expected to remain the number one movie at the box office over the Halloween weekend. October 2021 has been great for the box office after the COVID-19 pandemic, with audiences turning out to see the latest entries for characters like Venom, James Bond, Michael Myers and even turning out for Dune. Yet despite October being a strong month, the last week was always expected to be a little slower as unlike other holiday weekends like Thanksgiving or Christmas, Halloween tends to be a rather slow box office weekend.

This week saw a handful of new releases, including Edgar Wright's thriller Last Night and Soho and the long-delayed horror film Antlers hoping to cash in on the Halloween season. Meanwhile, the specialty market looks to offer counter-programming as Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch expands into more theaters and the Funimation My Hero Academia: World Heroes Mission opens in just 1,602 theaters. Yet, despite the plethora of new releases, all eyes remain on Dune to see how it would perform at the box office in its second weekend as being on HBO Max could hurt the film's chance of repeat viewing.

Despite all the new releases, it appears Dune will remain number one at the domestic box office with a projected weekend of $15.5 million, according to Deadline. That is a 62% decline from the previous week and will bring its domestic total to $69.3 million. Following in second place in Halloween Kills at the number two spot with a projected $8.75 million, a boost that's likely due to the holiday tie-in.


Of the new releases, it was My Hero Academia: World Heroes Mission that performed the best and it's expected to take the number three spot with $7.9 million, showing the rising potential of anime at the domestic box office similar to the April release of Demon Slayer: Mugen Train. Last Night and Soho is expected to open at number six with a total of $4.3 million, while Antlers will open at number seven with $4.1 million. The French Dispatch, due to it being a platform release, saw an increase in the box office and will crack the top 10 with $2 million.

At $69.3 million, Dune will pass Space Jam: A New Legacy to be the 12th high grossing film of 2021 at the domestic box office. The movie has already performed well enough in theaters and on HBO Max to secure a sequel, Dune: Part Two. Yet this slow weekend is a calm before the holiday movie season, as November will see the release of Eternals, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, King Richard, Encanto, and House of Gucci, all of which could push Dune out of the pop culture discourse and box office top five. Dune still has a bit of a way to clear $100 million at the domestic box office, and top Legendary Entertainment's Godzilla vs. Kong, but given the positive word of mouth and potential Oscar buzz, Dune could still pull it off.

Dune 2 (2023)
Release Date: Oct 20, 2023