Denis Villeneuve’s Highly-Acclaimed $714M Sci-Fi Movie Surges On Netflix’s Top 10 US Chart

An acclaimed Denis Villeneuve sci-fi movie is performing well on Netflix. Villeneuve is an acclaimed Canadian director who became an international sensation with the release of his 2010 French-language feature Incendies. His first English-language feature was the 2013 thriller Prisoners, starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, which kicked off a star-studded run of English-language productions that also includes the 2015 crime drama Sicario, starring Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Brolin.

Denis Villeneuve movies have taken on a variety of genres over the years, but recently he has taken a turn toward science fiction. After helming 2017’s Arrival, every movie he has directed since then has been a science fiction title, including the legacy sequel Blade Runner 2049 and the Frank Herbert adaptations Dune and Dune: Part Two. This has paid off, as these movies have so far earned the filmmaker his first three Oscar nominations, with Arrival being nominated for Best Director and Dune earning nods for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Dune: Part Two Is Dominating A Major Netflix Chart

The 2024 Movie Was A Smash Hit

Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two has now found new success on Netflix. The second of the director’s Dune movies was both a critical and commercial smash hit when it premiered in 2024. In addition to grossing $714.4 million worldwide, making it the fifth highest-grossing movie of the year, it has a Certified Fresh 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes alongside a Verified Hot 95% audience score. It was also nominated for two Golden Globes, 10 Critics’ Choice Awards, and one SAG Award, on top of being shortlisted in three Oscar categories so far.

Dune: Part Two adapts the second half of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel of the same name, following Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) facing emotional and moral challenges as he attempts to lead the Fremen in a rebellion on the desert planet Arrakis.

Netflix has unveiled their Top 10 most-watched English-language movies in the United States for the week of December 30 through January 5. Dune: Part Two has landed at No. 9 on the chart after debuting on the platform on January 1. It is one of several 2024 releases to debut on the chart, falling behind the Kevin Costner Western Horizon: An American Saga: Chapter 1 (No. 3), the Fury Road prequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (No. 4), the Ishana Night Shyamalan horror movie The Watchers (No. 6).

Rounding out the chart are the 2024 Netflix hits Carry-On (No. 1) and The Six Triple Eight (No. 2) in their respective fourth and third weeks, 2015’s In the Heart of the Sea (No. 5), and 2014’s Interstellar (No. 8). Also on the chart are the 2024 Monsterverse outing Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (No. 7) and the 2024 faith-based drama The Forge (No. 10), both of which are in their second weeks on the platform.

What This Means For Dune: Part Two

Its Theatrical Success May Have Impacted Its Chart Position

While the Denis Villeneuve sci-fi movie is not topping the Netflix chart in a way that belies its success, this may be the case exactly because of the sheer number of people who saw it in theaters. The other debuting 2024 titles charting ahead of it all had much worse grosses. Horizon was a flop (earning $32.8 million against a $50 million budget), while Watchers ($33 million against $30 million) and Furiosa ($173.8 million against $168 million) were major disappointments. Therefore, audiences are likely less familiar with them and more inclined to check them out now that they are streaming.

Source: Netflix