Aside from superhero movies, there are a few major film franchises at play right now. Chief among them is Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi hit Dune, which is expected to get its sequel this November. But since the all-star cast currently can’t do press thanks to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, resulting in some rumors that Warner Bros. might be delaying its release. Now the IMAX head honcho has spoken out following the Dune: Part Two delay rumors, and was even quoted saying “no disrespect to Timothée Chalamet.” Let’s break it all down.
Adapting the massive Dune novel for film is a huge task, as we saw with David Lynch’s 1984 movie. But audiences really responded to Villeneuve’s blockbuster, and the visual spectacle that it was in theaters. The marketing campaign for Part Two was in full effect prior to the strike going into effect, which barred actors from promoting movies from struck companies. During the IMAX Q2 earnings call (via Fool), CEO Richard Gelfond addressed this rumor, saying:
So, Dune is already in the midst of a marketing campaign. There are trailers out. There's lots of materials out. They had a big presentation, a lot of the conferences. As a matter of fact, the Denis Villeneuve presented at the IMAX CEO Forum. So, it's kind of out of the gate. So, if you put it back in the game, you've got to duplicate those expenses at some time in the future of putting it out of the gate.
Points were made. Warner Bros. had spent a ton of money airing Dune’s trailers and putting up billboards prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike. If the studio decided to delay the highly anticipated blockbuster, they would seemingly have to pay all that money up again. And for that reason, IMAX’s Richard Gelfond doesn’t seem too concerned about the delay rumors.
Another complication that comes with possibly delaying Dune is the puzzle piece that is movie release schedules. Studios don’t want too much competition, and Dune: Part Two was mainly set to compete against The Marvels which will be released one week later. Gelfond was quote in the earnings call saying:
In addition, Dune has a very long run time in IMAX, up to five or six weeks. And it just was fortuitous that there were no other conflicting projects. But if they were to move that to next year and some time, it's highly unlikely that they would have that amount of run time. And just to remind you, IMAX was about 20% of the growth on Dune 1. And I know there's a lot of marketing plan on Dune 2.
On the flip side, having such a star-studded cast for Dune: Part Two was also part of its appeal. Having them missing marketing and interviews is no doubt a loss for the marketing. That includes young talent like Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, and Austin Butler. Gelfond specifically referenced the Call Me By Your Name star, saying:
If they move Dune 2, there's a carrying cost, call it 10% or whatever it is. So, how are they going to make up for that cost across the other incremental costs? The IMAX release is a really important element to their release pattern. And as I said just a minute ago, I don't think it's replicable for them to have that kind of run time again. So, when I look at it from their point of view, from a dollars and cents numbers perspective, it just doesn't make any sense to me that they would move it because -- and again, the only reason they would move it is they'd say, the actors strike is going on, and they want to get a premier and put it on the Tonight Show or whatever they put the actors, but with no disrespect to Timothee Chalamet.
Shots weren’t necessarily fired, but it’s definitely interesting to see a peek behind the curtain and the talks happening by major companies like Warner Bros. and IMAX. And with Dune: Part Two set to arrive in a matter of months, it’s crunch time. And it doesn’t seem like the SAG-AFTRA strike is going to end anytime soon.
Dune: Part Two is currently expected to arrive in theaters on November 3rd. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
