The Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for constantly expanding, thanks to new releases hitting theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. One of the most highly anticipated upcoming Marvel movies is Avengers: Doomsday, which will arrive this December. But it'll be competing with Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Three, in an event fans are calling Dunesday. But while Barbenheimer was a boon for the industry, some theaters are nervous about these two blockbusters releasing on the same day.
What we know about Avengers: Doomsday is limited, and the same can also be said for Dune 3, which just released its first trailer. While some folks might assume that theaters are pleased about this forthcoming double feature event, that's not necessarily the case. One theater chain representative spoke to THR about this, complaining:
Someone’s gotta move. That’s a level of overwhelm that doesn’t make sense. Especially after the last few years [of theaters struggling]. An Avengers movie and Dune 3 are both sure things.
This is understandable. While theaters have slowed post-pandemic, Dune: Part Three and Avengers: Doomsday are two franchise blockbusters that will likely attract the same type of audiences. Although there's another issue aside from how overwhelmed some theaters might be: the screens necessary to do showings of both of these titles.
Article continues belowThe Dune movies are known for being visual spectacles, as are the Avengers films. So, which movie ends up getting each theater's biggest screens is a big question mark surrounding Dunesday. And aside from the distribution of big, high-tech screens, there's also another question: what's going to happen to the other, smaller movies that are in theaters at that time? The same exec offered their perspective, saying:
It will be especially bad for specialty distributors because everybody’s going to free up every screen they have for those two films.
Both Dune and Doomsday will require a ton of screenings thanks to their popularity, which presumably means that other titles in theaters at the time will have fewer showings/theaters available. Some of those movies include Jumanji 4 and Ice Age 6.
Funny enough, not all theaters are feeling this sense of dread about the Dunesday. Another exhibitor expressed interest in seeing so many moviegoers head to theaters at the same time for these two blockbusters. As they put it:
There will plenty of regular auditoriums left over for both films once the rest of the premium large-format screens ae divide up. For us, it’s a win-win. We’ll have two huge movies throughout the two weeks of the Christmas holiday.
Considering how challenging its been to get folks to go to theaters, Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three have the opportunity to be a big payday for theaters. So even if it'll present some challenges, it's a potential victory at the end of the year that could help keep some places in the black.
All will be revealed when Dunesday drops on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. We'll just have to see how both audiences and theaters respond to these two movies hitting theaters at the same time.
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