Early presale numbers for December’s biggest showdown may have already revealed which blockbuster will reign supreme. Box office tracking data suggests one film holds a commanding lead over its rival ahead of their shared release date.
Dunesday winner possibly decided already with presales
Box office tracker EmpireCity Box Office reported on X (formerly Twitter) that early presale data points to a decisive winner on December 18. The account noted that Avengers: Doomsday leads Dune: Part Three by a ratio of 3.2 to 4 times in advance ticket sales.
“Not a knock on the sales of @dunemovie at all, but the winner of the weekend is set,” EmpireCity Box Office wrote. “There is no real competition between the two, shows you what a juggernaut is incoming.”
The gap reflects the difference in scale between the two franchises. Avengers: Endgame held the title of highest-grossing film of all time after its 2019 release. Doomsday marks the first Avengers entry since that record-breaking run. Meanwhile, the Dune franchise has earned over $1 billion worldwide across its first two installments.
One user on X pointed to the raw numbers behind the divide. “Sequel to a 2.8 billion movie vs sequel to a 715 million movie,” the user wrote. Another expressed hope that both films could thrive. “If Dune could open to 100m that would be great,” the user said. “Hoping both films do well.”
The December 18 release date has already sparked friction between studios. Dune: Part Three secured exclusive access to all global IMAX screens for its opening. Disney responded by launching InfinityVision, a new certification scheme for large-format screens. The move gives Doomsday its own premium exhibition pathway outside the IMAX ecosystem.
Industry observers have drawn comparisons to the Barbenheimer phenomenon of July 2023. Barbie earned $356 million worldwide on its opening weekend while Oppenheimer took $180 million. That dual release drove the biggest UK cinema weekend since 2019 and the fourth-largest US box office weekend on record. However, analysts note those films appealed to different demographics.
Doomsday and Dune target overlapping audiences, making a similar crossover effect less likely.
