Dune Part 2 ruled the box office over the weekend, taking just over $80 million at the US box office and around $180 million globally.
Its takings were helped by the fact that many rushed to see it at IMAX theaters. They usually charge more for tickets.
The movie has earned widespread praise from critics and audiences. One cast member who has left a particular impression is Austin Butler. The 32-year-old Australian star of Elvis plays the sadistic and evil villain, Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. He’s the nephew of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, played by Stellan Skarsgård.
How about we take this to the next level?
Subscribe to our newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
At one point in the movie, Feyd-Rautha greets the Baron with a kiss. He kisses him on the lips. The unexpected show of respect and affection is unnerving.
Talking to Access Hollywood, Butler was asked about reports he’d improvised the moment on set.
“[The kiss] with Stellan Skarsgård? Oh yeah! He’s game for anything. He’s the best…it’s always about how you’re trying to affect somebody else.”
Critics have said that Butler’s role is iconic, similar to Heath Ledger’s iconic take on the Joker in The Dark Knight.
Austin Butler in ‘DUNE: PART TWO’ is described by critics as the most memorable villain on screen since Javier Bardem in ‘No Country for Old Men’ and Heath Ledger in ‘The Dark Knight’. pic.twitter.com/LPGx3c5w2B
— Denis Villeneuve Universe (@DenisVfilms) February 25, 2024
Butler has a reputation for method acting. He was reported to take on Elvis Presley’s distinctive drawl when preparing for his Oscar-nominated role in Elvis. That involved three years of research, preparation and shooting. Butler recently told the Los Angeles Times he’d not gone as far with Dune in his method approach.
“I’ve definitely in the past, with ‘Elvis,’ explored living within that world for three years and that being the only thing that I think about day and night,” Butler admitted. “With Feyd, I knew that that would be unhealthy for my family and friends.”
Dune Part 2 cost around $190 million to produce, with a further $100 million on marketing. With no other tentpole releases on the horizon for the next couple of weeks, it looks likely to continue to dominate the box office. Many IMAX theaters are fully booked up for screenings over the coming days.
Although Dune Parts 1 and 2 cover the first Dune book, written by Frank Herbert in the mid-1960s, director Denis Villeneuve has made it clear he’d be up for shooting a third installment. Herbert wrote several Dune novels. However, Warner Bros. has yet to greenlight a third movie.
Watch a trailer for the latest movie below.
Related:
The thirst for Timothée Chalamet & the rest of the ‘Dune 2’ cast has the internet by the throat
‘Dune: Part Two’ has everyone parched.
Josh Brolin’s homoerotic ode to Timothée Chalamet will leave you with so many questions
Apparently, Josh Brolin was so beguiled by the blockbuster boy wonder that he wrote him an oddly thirsty poem.
Mister P
I’d love to kiss those lips.
inbama
And he doesn’t have those fake teeth everybody’s wearing these days.
FreddieW
That wasn’t an erotic scene.
And the movie, though visually stunning, was a disappointment. Less than 9 months for Paul Atreides to become a cult messiah leading a holy war, and I didn’t even get to see Alia kill the Baron with a poisoned needle.
FreddieW
And not a single Navigator in 2 movies.
Fahd
I don’t think Austin Butler is Australian as stated in the article. I think he’s from Anaheim, California, home of Disneyland. On Graham Norton, he mentioned that he had to keep his hair for a future part, so his bald head in Dune Part Two is thanks to the make up crew. Pretty good.
Chaucer
Just a comment on an error in the article about Austin Butler. He is not Australian, as the article says. He was born in Anaheim, California.