If you were on the frontlines fighting to see Christopher Nolan's “The Odyssey” in IMAX, you might be having flashbacks right about now.
Premium-format tickets went on sale midday Aug. 18 for “Dune: Part Three” (in theaters Dec. 18), the epic finale to Denis Villeneuve’s Oscar-winning sci-fi trilogy starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya.
Within minutes, the AMC Theatres app crashed as cinephiles scrambled to scoop up seats. Meanwhile, moviegoers took to social media to share snaps of themselves waiting in line for hours outside their local cineplexes, hoping to score IMAX 70mm tickets for the eerie Frank Herbert adaptation. IMAX 70mm showings have already hit resale sites for up to $2,500, and AMC CEO Adam Aron posted a lengthy public apology
for widespread tech glitches that left many film buffs ticketless.
Four months out from release, the overwhelming demand illustrates that “the frenzy around IMAX is not going away,” IMAX told USA TODAY in a statement. “We’re only beginning to understand how this dynamic will reshape our business.”
But there’s one huge asterisk for “Dune”: “Avengers: Doomsday,” Marvel’s jam-packed superhero team-up movie, will also arrive in theaters Dec. 18, creating a "Dunesday" cage match. The film marks the highly anticipated return of Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. to the franchise (with the latter in a new role), although Warner Bros. has locked down U.S. IMAX screens for “Dune” for at least the first three weeks of release.
As a result, Disney is attempting to cash in on other premium large-format showings of “Doomsday” by marketing its new Infinity Vision tickets, which essentially certify that theaters meet specific benchmarks for screen size and sound quality.
“In this case, ‘Dune’ enters the battle already controlling the territory,” says Jeff Bock, senior media analyst at box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. “However, if ‘Doomsday’ explodes – which it most likely will – exhibitors will want to accommodate that demand on every other premium screen available," including Dolby Cinema and ScreenX.
Late last month, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” didn’t open on IMAX screens, all of which were congested with “Odyssey” screenings held over from the week before. But after “Spider-Man” raked in dough its first weekend, the web-slinging sequel expanded to IMAX theaters. Something similar could happen with “Dune” and “Doomsday” this winter.
“Once that exclusive window expires for ‘Dune,’ the economics could force IMAX to divide the marketplace,” Bock says. “That’s the way the box-office cookie crumbles. The real fight over the holiday corridor will be premium-screen capacity, especially since both movies are targeting the same young, male, spectacle-driven audience.”
Even still, "Dune" will likely experience a "halo effect" from "The Odyssey" and "Project Hail Mary," both of which were IMAX hits this year, says Shawn Robbins, Fandango's director of movie analytics, and founder and owner of Box Office Theory.
"Christopher Nolan is cemented as the filmmaker most closely associated with IMAX," Robbins says. "But the 'Dune' franchise and Denis Villeneuve have proven histories with the format in their own rights," with the first two "Dune" movies grossing nearly $200 million combined on IMAX screens alone.
Daniel Loria, senior vice president and editorial director at Boxoffice Pro, also anticipates “very strong IMAX demand for ‘Dune’ ” over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
That said, “I do believe ‘Dune’ would benefit from opening earlier – maybe the first weekend of December – to ensure there was no competition in its run from the Marvel title,” Loria cautions. “That's the formula that worked for ‘Odyssey’ and ‘Spider-Man.’ I'm not entirely convinced that the ‘Barbenheimer’-style simultaneous release of these two titles is the best way to maximize box office for either of them.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Dune 3' IMAX tickets are hot, but the 'real fight' will be 'Doomsday'
