Dune: Part Two received several Oscars 2025 nominations, and one of them helped put the franchise in an exclusive club with three of the biggest franchises ever. Denis Villeneuve split Frank Herbert’s original Dune novel into two movies, and that has led to double the amount of money at the box office and opportunities for awards recognition. 2021’s Dune performed incredibly well with Academy Awards voters, as it received 10 nominations and won six Oscars. That put some pressure on Dune: Part Two to do just as well, if not better.
Ultimately, Dune 2‘s Oscars performance on nomination morning may have come across as a disappointment. The movie only earned five nominations as it was ineligible for Best Score and left out of categories like Adapted Screenplay. There was even a repeat of Denis Villeneuve’s Best Director Oscar snub. Dune 2 still did fairly well with the Academy members, as it did receive a Best Picture nomination. Even though it is not the predicted Oscars 2025 Best Picture winner, the nomination still helps the franchise achieve a rare accomplishment.
Dune Is Only The 4th Franchise To Have Its First Two Films Get Best Picture Oscar Nominations
Both Dune Movies Got Best Picture Nominations
The categories that Dune 2‘s Oscar nominations came in were unsurprising. The first film also received recognition in Best Picture, Cinematography, Production Design, Sound, and Visual Effects, so Dune 2 continues the franchise’s strong performance in those fields. Some of that may seem inconsequential at first, but the back-to-back Best Picture nominations for the Dune movies is quite impressive. Dune is now only the fourth franchise where the first two entries got Best Picture Oscar nominations.
That is an impressive accomplishment for Dune to have considering how many different franchises have received some level of recognition from the Academy. Film series like The Exorcist, Jaws, Rocky, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Gladiator, and Black Panther all got Best Picture nominations with their first movies. However, none of their immediate sequels got recognized in the category. No subsequent installments in any of those franchises got Best Picture nominations either. Dune 2‘s nomination means the franchise avoids being in that group. It joins a very different club instead.
Avatar, The Lord Of The Rings & The Godfather Are The Other Franchises In Dune’s Oscar Club
Some Had More Success After
Dune is now part of an Oscars club that Avatar, The Lord of the Rings, and The Godfather were already in. These three franchises had their first two movies nominated for Best Picture too. The Godfather was the first franchise to accomplish this milestone after The Godfather and The Godfather Part II earned nominations in 1973 and 1975, respectively. It took nearly 30 years for another franchise to do the same. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers became Best Picture nominees in 2002 and 2003, respectively.
Before Dune joined the club, James Cameron’s Avatar was the most recent addition. While Avatar was nominated for Best Picture in 2010, it took 13 years for Avatar: The Way of Water to come out and get the same recognition. Avatar, Dune, The Godfather, and The Lord of the Rings are all now the only franchises to belong to this Oscars group. However, The Godfather and The Lord of the Rings are in a more exclusive club, as the first three films in both franchises got Best Picture nominations.
Dune’s New Oscar Club Further Suggests Dune 2 Won’t Win Best Picture
Sequels Rarely Win Best Picture
Dune‘s new standing in Oscars history is impressive, but it is not a good indicator that Dune 2 will win Best Picture. To be fair, the odds of Denis Villeneuve’s sequel winning the biggest prize at the Oscars was always unlikely. There have only been two sequels to win Best Picture in Oscar history. Of those two winners, only The Godfather Part II belongs to the same club that Dune: Part Two is also now part of. In other words, The Godfather Part II is the only second installment of a franchise to win Best Picture.
There could be a belief that Oscar voters can reward the series after the trilogy is complete
The only other sequel to win Best Picture is The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. While Academy voters nominated all three films in Peter Jackson’s franchise for Best Picture, they waited until the trilogy’s conclusion to award it in this category. Dune is likely in the same position as a franchise. With Denis Villeneuve already developing Dune 3, there could be a belief that Oscar voters can reward the series after the trilogy is complete. That mindset and the state of the Best Picture race indicate Dune 2 won’t win Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars.