HBO Max's 'Dune' Had This Year's Biggest Day-and-Date Audience, Reelgood Says

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Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve's new adaptation of Frank Herbert's sci-fi classic captured nearly a quarter more streams than the previous top title, 'The Suicide Squad'

Warner Bros.' 'Dune'
(Image credit: WarnerMedia)

Warner Bros. Pictures' latest adaptation of sci-fi classic Dune had the biggest home streaming opening weekend of any day-and-date theatrical title this year, according to data released by Reelgood.

Debuting Friday on HBO Max, filmmaker Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Frank Herbert's 1965 sci-fi opus accounted for 12% of 2 million searches measured by Reelgood.com, which directs users to the appropriate platform to find the movie or TV show they're searching for. 

According to Reelgood's technique, which measures the percentage of streams arbitrated from Friday through Sunday on a cross-sample of 2 million referrals, Dune performed significantly better than the previous best day-and-date opening, HBO Max's premiere of The Suicide Squad back in early August.

(Image credit: Reelgood)

Dune coupled its HBO Max release with a successful domestic box office debut, totaling $40.1 million in 4,125 North American theaters, and already surpassing filmmaker David Lynch's confounding 1984 adaptation of Dune. 

Villeneuve's Dune arrived in theaters with new COVID-19 cases falling fast, and critics collectively scoring it at a solid 83%, according to aggregation platform Rotten Tomatoes. 

WarnerMedia announced late last year that all 17 films in the 2021 Warner Bros. Pictures theatrical slate would be released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max.

Daniel Frankel
Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!