Every so often two major movies are released on the same weekend and some competition is started at the box office. While Barbenheimer resulted in huge numbers for both Barbie and Oppenheimer, we're about to get another one of these moments with the forthcoming release of both the upcoming Marvel movie Avengers: Doomsday and Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Three. The forthcoming theatrical event had been named Dunesday, although Marvel's Kevin Feige reportedly admitted that having another blockbuster to compete with might not have been the best plan.
What we know about Avengers: Doomsday is limited, but there's a ton of hype surrounding both that movie and Dune 3. It's unclear if they'll end up cannibalizing each other's box office performance, or if folks will simply do double features to see both titles.
Kevin Feige allegedly spoke about this at a Chinese event, with a translated quote coming to us from Weibo (via Threads). He reportedly said:
Well… one of the jobs of filmmakers is to make sure many, many people go into movie theaters. So, on one hand, we hope that weekend will see movie theaters around the world packed, which is very exciting. On the other hand, we couldn’t finish Avengers 5 by May, so we had to move it to December.
If true, this is illuminating. While I'm gonna take this translated quote with a grain of salt, it sounds like Doomsday wasn't always going to be competing with Dune. But when The Russo Brothers' movie needed more time during the editing process, that's how things shook out. And just like that, Dunesday was born.
When the next Avengers movie got moved to its December release date, some fans worried that it would suffer at the box office due to both competition and superhero fatigue. But if Doomsday's record-breaking trailer performance is any indication, that might not be the case. While superhero fatigue might be a think, folks who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order are still seemingly invested in the forthcoming crossover event.
It should be interesting to see just how much money both Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three end up making during the opening weekend. Will this competition result in both movies performing well, or will they interfere with each other's profitability? In addition to Barbenheimer being a pop culture moment, last year we were treated to Wickediator aka the release of Wicked: For Good and Gladiator 2. While they were very different movies, they were both able to make a ton of money at the box office. Only time will tell if that happens this December for Dunesday.
Both Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three will hit theaters on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. No matter what happens Florence Pugh is winning, as she'll star in both of those highly anticipated blockbusters.
