Breaking News: IMAX CEO Reveals the Real Reason Behind Dune 2's Timely Release – No Offense to Timothée Chalamet!

Summary

Questioning the rationale behind postponing the film, Gelfond highlights the absence of market competition and the potential consequences on costs and release strategy. Despite recent speculation, IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond has indicated that Dune: Part Two is unlikely to face any delays. Based on the acclaimed novels by Frank Herbert, director Denis Villeneuve's Dune received positive reviews and performed reasonably well at the box office in 2021. The filmmaker is set to continue the narrative of Timothée Chalamet's Paul Atreides in the highly anticipated Dune: Part Two. However, the SAG-AFTRA strike has cast doubt on the film's originally planned release date in November.

Now, with the release date of Dune: Part Two drawing near, remarks made by Gelfond during the IMAX Q2 earnings call suggest that a previous report about Warner Bros. considering postponing the sequel may not be accurate. According to The Motley Fool's transcription, the CEO explains that delaying the film might not make financial sense. Read below for Gelfond's complete comment:

"Exactly. Specifically regarding Dune, there is another excellent movie, The Marvels from Marvel, set to release around the same time, but we cannot screen it since we have committed to Dune. So, if Dune were to be postponed, we would simply fill that time slot with The Marvels. Having a Marvel film as a backup is not a bad position to be in. However, based on my extensive examination of the facts, I believe it is highly unlikely for Dune to be rescheduled."

Dune is currently in the midst of an ongoing marketing campaign with trailers, promotional materials, and presentations at conferences, including a presentation by director Denis Villeneuve at the IMAX CEO Forum. The film has already gained momentum in terms of promotion and release plans. Delaying the release would mean duplicating the expenses incurred during this campaign later. Additionally, Dune has a lengthy run time in IMAX, potentially up to five or six weeks. It is worth noting that there are no conflicting projects at the moment, allowing for this extended run time. However, if the release were to be moved to a later date, it would be unlikely to have the same duration in IMAX. It is important to remember that IMAX played a significant role in the success of the first Dune film, contributing around 20% of its growth. Similar efforts are anticipated for the marketing of Dune 2.

"If Dune 2 is relocated, there will be a cost associated with it, estimated at around 10% or so. Thus, the challenge lies in compensating for this expense along with other additional costs. The release of Dune 2 in IMAX format holds significant importance within their distribution strategy. However, it seems unlikely that they will be able to replicate a similar runtime for future releases.

"From a financial standpoint, considering the numbers and practicality, it doesn't seem logical for them to move the film. The only possible reason for such a move would be if there is an ongoing actors' strike and they are aiming for a premiere on a popular talk show, like the Tonight Show, not intending any disrespect towards Timothée Chalamet."

Can you compensate for the loss of a six-week IMAX release? Can you recover the capital investment and bear the cost for a year? Are you willing to take the risk of moving it to an uncertain year, with no guarantee of how it will perform when there is currently little competition in the market?

It doesn't seem logical. When you consider other movies, the same argument applies. I spoke with the distributor at Warner Brothers, and they're unsure how the article will be received in the media.

"And they have explicitly denied the truthfulness of that article. Therefore, I can only offer you my logical viewpoint on the matter. However, I firmly believe that it will not bring about any significant changes."

Source: The Motley Fool