UPDATE: WhenToStream says it made a mistake. No VOD, just yet.
EARLIER: “Dune: Part 2” is a massive critical and commercial hit, and just reached the $630 million mark worldwide. But it seems like Warner Bros are about to make a very bad decision …
Over the weekend, numerous trackers claimed that “Dune: Part 2” would be made available digitally as early as tomorrow, April 2. This would defy the “standard” 45-day window from theatrical release to VOD. I’m sure Denis Villeneuve can’t be too happy about this.
April 2 is the earliest date I’ve been hearing about, and, judging by the numerous sources reporting, it might actually happen. For weeks, I had been hearing April 15 or 16, so, if Warners comes to its senses, that might end up being the date they choose to make it available (which, in my books, is still too early).
“Dune: Part 2” is #3 at the box-office, after only a month in theaters, and it’s still got plenty of legs left. Putting it on VOD as early as tomorrow is a mindboggling decision, especially since Villeneuve’s film is the kind of statement that is meant to be seen theatrically. The VOD release will almost certainly hurt the film’s box-office.
If “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” waited MONTHS before they were made available on VOD, then why can’t ‘Dune 2’? It deserves to play exclusively in theaters for, at least, another month or two.
How do you expect movie theaters to sustain themselves when your audience suspects that any film, even the most popular ones, will be available to stream at home in just a matter of weeks? ‘Dune 2’ will probably be very successful on VOD, but there’s something grim about studios’ total disregard for theatrical runs in the post- pandemic era.
When asked for comment, Warner Bros neither confirmed nor denied the VOD release date.
Cory Finley, a talented filmmaker, has directed three films so far: "Thoroughbreds" (2017), "Bad Education” (2020), and "Landscape with Invisible Hand.”