Big-budget “Dune: Part Two” basks in the glow of copious good press after distributor Warner Bros. Pictures mounted an extensive six-country, whistle-stop publicity tour of talent.
The “Dune 2” publicity parade made stops earlier this month at New York City, Mexico City, Paris, London, South Korea and Abu Dhabi. That press tour covered the world because each stop became a magnet for junkets where regional journalists and social media influencers congregated. Videos and still images are a big part of Warners’ publicity push here.
The PG-13 rated action/fantasy film, based on the classic Frank Herbert novel, is scheduled for March 1 premiere domestically (U.S. and Canada). “Dune 2” is a sequel that reportedly cost $165 million to make (that’s the low-end of the big-budget category), and is financed by Legendary Entertainment and hedge-fund Apollo Global Management.
At the first stop in Mexico City at the start of this month, 12,000 fans thronged to see in-person talent Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh and filmmaker Denis Villeneuve at a prerelease fan screening. Such early sneak screenings generate word of mouth that echo through the popular culture with social media and press coverage. And that buzz is good because professional film critics are now praising “Dune 2.”111
Says a Feb. 6 press release from Warner Bros. about the publicity stop in Mexico City: Director/writer “Villeneuve held a Master Class with more than 200 students, influencers and fans from Sopitas [an entertainment website], Cinemex and Warner Bros. Pictures’ social media channels, reaching an estimated 90.9 million followers.” Influencers are opinion leaders whose comments ricochet cross cyberspace. Cinemex is the territory’s largest movie theater chain.
“On the same day,” the Warners press release continues, “a Fan Event took place at Auditorio Nacional, with more than 12,000 attendees, including press, influencers, and eager fans, who gathered to celebrate the arrival of the stars. Inside the theater, 4,300 fans were able to witness the first exclusive fan screening of the movie in the world. Altogether, 160 influencers with a combined reach of over 200 million were in attendance, and 119 media outlets from Mexico and LATAM, including broadcast, TV, online, and print, were present to amplify the event, along with the Warner Channel and TikTok stages, where talent were interviewed.”
As for media generated by the Warners tour, W Magazine posted a photo gallery of what seemed to be publicity shots of stars in various clothing styles, accompanied by fashion commentary. “Chalamet has once again teamed up with his longtime stylist Ryan Hasting for the press tour — and, truly, they have definitely not disappointed,” gushes W Magazine “Like Zendaya, who is pulling out everything from sci-fi sets to gravity-defying gowns, Chalamet is taking a futuristic approach to his press tour fashion … ”
Elsewhere, a influencer weighed in with a mostly upbeat film review, after screening. “The special effects are incredible and the sand worms are unbelievably great” reports an Cinemablend influencer on TikTok, though he prefers the first “Dune” movie (most other critics say “Dune 2” is better than the first).
The tour generated videos, commentators praising, commentators being snarky, film stars gushing, clips of the film and images galore. Final stop London hosted the world cinema premiere Feb. 15, where cameras, press and paparazzi gorged on the red-carpet glitz.
Warners formal publicity tour is just one of multiple initiatives. For example, “Dune 2” is one of a dozen pop-culture entertainment products (especially video games) getting a center-stage spot at fanboy event IGN Fan Fest, running Feb. 23-24, which expects 1 million live views and 32 million video views.
The first “Dune” theatrical film grossed a $434 million worldwide premiering 2021; $109 million of that haul came from domestic. So, the original “Dune’s” boxoffice tilted 75% to international where normally that outside the U.S./Canada figure is down around 60%. That 2021 theatrical boxoffice is good-but-not-great. Meanwhile, “Dune 2” is shaping up to be a rare sequel that surpasses.
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