"Dune" wormed its way to the top of the North American box office over the weekend, grossing $40.1 million from 4,125 theaters, according to preliminary numbers — a solid debut given that the science fiction epic premiered simultaneously on HBO Max.
"Dune" also delivered director Denis Villeneuve his career-best debut, exceeding the domestic opening weekend grosses for "Blade Runner 2049" ($32.7 million in 2017) and "Arrival" ($24 million in 2016), his two most recent projects.
2 position, with a weekend haul of $14.5 million, bringing its total earnings to just over $73 million
"Ron's Gone Wrong," an animated family comedy featuring the voices of Zach Galifianakis and "The Crown" star Olivia Colman, launched its theatrical run with a relatively weak $7.3 million from 3,560 theaters
"The French Dispatch," Wes Anderson's latest visual confection, opened to $1.3 million in just 52 locations for a robust per-theater average of $25,000