Despite hybrid release, ‘Dune’ draws well on the big screen

NEW YORK — Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” debuted with $40.1 million in ticket sales in its opening weekend in North America, drawing a large number of moviegoers to see the thundering sci-fi epic on the big screen despite it also being available to stream in homes.

Warner Bros. launched the Legendary Entertainment production simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. When the studio first charted that course for all its 2021 releases due to the pandemic, how the strategy would affect “Dune” — one of the year’s most anticipated spectacles — was always one of the biggest question marks.

Warner Bros. has continued to maintain it will return to exclusive theatrical releases next year. For now, the $165 million-budgeted “Dune” marks the best domestic opening for any of the studio’s hybrid releases, surpassing the $31.7 debut of “Godzilla vs. Kong” in March. Expectations had hovered closer to $3035 million for “Dune.”

“Dune” is the second big-screen attempt to adapt Frank Herbert’s 1965 epic, following David Lynch’s much-derided 1984 version. Villeneuve’s “Dune,” which adapts only the first half of the book, stars Timothee Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya and Javier Bardem. Legendary and Warner Bros. have yet to confirm a sequel to “Dune,” which chronicles a violent power shift on the desert planet Arrakis, where a valuable mineral called “spice” is harvested.

Last week’s top film, Universal Pictures’ horror sequel “Halloween Kills,” also launched well while streaming at home, on Peacock. After debuting with $50.4 million, “Halloween Kills” slid steeply in its second week with $14.5 million, good for second place. In two weeks, it has grossed $73.1 million domestically.

“No Time to Die,” Cary Fukunaga’s