The second part of the science fiction blockbuster Dune made the North American box office take off, collecting US$81.5 million for its first weekend in theaters, according to estimates on Sunday from specialist firm Exhibitor Relations.
The feature film of more than 2 hours 30 minutes, still directed by Quebecer Denis Villeneuve, offers a great spectacle but also a reflection on power, faith and fanaticism.
The main character, played by the star Franco-American actor Timothée Chalamet, completes his transformation by becoming the expected messiah, a vengeful leader after seeing his lineage wiped out.
Dune and its hostile planet Arrakis, imagined by the American writer Frank Herbert, also make it possible to convey messages about ecology, from water becoming a rare commodity to industrial plundering of resources.
The figure achieved this weekend in Canadian and American theaters is “exceptional” for a science fiction film, commented analyst David A. Gross. It is also for the moment the best score of the year for a release.
Other stars are present in the casting, such as Zendaya, or even Léa Seydoux and Javier Bardem.
Far behind, relegated to second place in the ranking, Bob Marley: One Lovea film about the life of the reggae legend, raked in $7.4 million.
The Jamaican singer with dazzling success and sudden death in 1981, is played by British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir, known for his role as Malcolm One Night in Miami.
On the third step of the podium, the last episodes of the series The chosenon the life of Jesus Christ, raised $3.9 million.
Just behind, in fourth position, Ordinary Angels raised just under $3.9 million over the weekend. The film tells the true story of a Kentucky hairdresser who unites her entire small town to help a widower left alone to take care of his sick daughter.
The Marvel superhero movie Madame Web, in fifth place, earned $3.2 million. For this fourth Sony film in the Spider-Man universe, actress Dakota Johnson plays an ambulance driver with clairvoyant gifts.
Here is the rest of the top 10:
6. Migration ($2.5 million)
7. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – On the Road to Pillar Training (2 millions)
8. Wonka (1.7 million)
9. Argyle (1.4 million)
10. The Beekeeper (1.1 million)