I have never been particularly worried about “Dunesday.” Putting Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three in theaters on the same day certainly creates headaches for premium screens, but these are also two enormous franchises with pretty dedicated audiences. Throw in the Christmas corridor and the possibility that audiences might see both, and Dec. 18 has always looked capable of producing a monster weekend. But the numbers are even loftier than first expected.
According to TheWrap, early ticket sales for both projects on the 2026 movie schedule are already pointing toward a huge holiday box office. The numbers surrounding Doomsday are particularly wild, especially when you compare them to what Spider-Man: Brand New Day just pulled off.
The Avengers Are Already Making a Scene
Disney opened general advance sales for Avengers: Doomsday four months before its Dec. 18 release, an unusually long runway for a blockbuster. According to theatrical sources, its first two days of presales were running approximately 65% ahead of the first two days for Spider-Man: Brand New Day's first two days. That comparison gets my attention.
Brand New Day began selling tickets only 45 days before release and went on to open with a record-setting $360 million domestically and $927 million worldwide. It crossed $2 billion globally after just three weekends. Per the report, it is currently on track to reach roughly $2.5 billion by the end of its theatrical run.
Now, there is a giant asterisk attached to that 65% figure. We do not normally see wide ticket sales begin four months early, so nobody really knows what the sales curve will look like between now and December. The initial rush will almost certainly cool before picking up closer to release. Comparing the two movies this early is probably not fair. Still, being 65% ahead of a new Spider-Man movie that just bulldozed the box office is not bad news.
Robert Downey Jr.’s return to Marvel as Doctor Doom, Chris Evans coming back as Steve Rogers and the collision of the Avengers, Fantastic Four and veteran X-Men characters have clearly given audiences plenty of reasons to buy their tickets early. But where does this leave Dune: Part Three?
Meanwhile, Things Are Getting Spicy On Arrakis
General tickets for Dune: Part Three are not even on sale yet, but Warner Bros. and IMAX have already released tickets for select IMAX 70mm screenings. Reports cite that the 38 participating theaters are seeing dozens of opening-weekend sellouts, with enough interest to sustain round-the-clock screenings through Christmas weekend and beyond.
IMAX confirms that 70mm tickets are already available for Denis Villeneuve’s franchise finale. That premium-format battle may end up being the most fascinating part of this whole thing. Dune: Part Three has exclusive access to IMAX screens through the holidays, while Disney is pushing Doomsday across other premium formats. Dune: Part Three may not reach the astronomical numbers of The Odyssey, which is passing $1.3 billion worldwide, but it could still surpass Dune: Part Two’s $714 million global total if audiences respond similarly.
I already figured Dec. 18 would be a good day for movie theaters and cinema fans. I was picturing packed lobbies, double features and plenty of arguments over which movie to watch first. But these early numbers make me think we may need to aim considerably higher with our box-office expectations.
Dunesday is still four months away, and both movies have plenty of selling left to do. But if this is what the box office looks like before most people have even started Christmas shopping, theater employees may want to start preparing now, because it's going to be a very busy weekend.
