This morning, invites went out to press for screenings of Denis Villeneuve's "Dune: Part Three." I got one, and my screening is set for December 1 at 9:30am. That's 17 days before the film opens in theaters on December 18.
That's a confident move from Warner Bros. Studios that are nervous about a film's reception generally keep it locked up until the last minute. Studios that think they have a winner show it early and let word of mouth do the rest. The latter seems to be the plan for 'Dune 3.'
The embargo timeline is just as telling. Social media reactions can go up on December 2 at 12:30AM ET, the day after my screening. Full reviews follow on December 9, more than a week before release. That gives buzz plenty of time to build, which matters even more with "Avengers: Doomsday" opening the same weekend.
The film still doesn't have an MPA rating, but post-production has to be close to done. The invite lists a runtime of 150 minutes, a bit shorter than "Dune: Part Two," which ran 166 minutes. I expect the MPA rating to come next week, and like the first two installments, it will almost certainly be PG-13.
Villeneuve has said this will be his final trip to Arrakis, adapting Frank Herbert's "Dune Messiah." The cast is immense: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Robert Pattinson, Javier Bardem, Florence Pugh, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Charlotte Rampling and Isaach de Bankolé.
Ticket sales have been mighty impressive as well. It's now almost certain that 'Part Three' will be the first film in the trilogy to open above $100M domestically. It could go as high as $120M, despite opening on the same day as "Avengers: Doomsday."
Greig Fraser, the cinematographer on Villeneuve's first two 'Dune' movies, has been replaced on this third chapter by Oscar winner Linus Sandgren, whose most notable work includes "La La Land" and "No Time to Die." Sandgren shot 'Dune 3' on film, a first for the franchise, and based on the footage we've seen so far, it looks gorgeous.
More on December 2.
This morning, invites went out to press for screenings of Denis Villeneuve's "Dune: Part Three." I got one, and my screening is set for December 1. That's 17 days before the film opens in theaters.