The highly anticipated sci-fi epic blockbuster "Dune" was released last weekend and has so far grossed more than $220 million worldwide, equivalent to nearly 1.5 billion yuan. The film also grossed 140 million yuan in its first weekend in Chinese mainland.
The first installment of Dune, a science-fiction epic starring Timothée Chalamet, notched an estimated $40.1 million at the North American box office over the weekend. It marks the biggest opening for Warner Bros this year. So far,Dunehas made $220 million globally. This weekend, it debuted with $21.6 million in China.
Dune is based on Frank Herbert's 1965 epic science fiction masterpiece. Dennis Villeneuve, who successfully directed the sci-fi films Blade Runner 2049 and Arrival, was the director, with "Sweet Tea" Timothy Challemede starring.
Set on Arrakis, an inhospitable desert planet valued for its hallucinogenic "spice," the novel follows the journey of young Paul Atreides whose family has been tasked with overseeing the planet — taking the place of their rivals, the Harkonnens.
The story of the original novel takes place on a planet called Alex, a desolate desert planet that is valued by all parties because of its abundant "spices", an important material of the universe. The gifted teenager Paul Erridi is guided by fate to defend his family and people, determined to travel to the most dangerous planet in the vast universe, replacing the rule of the rival Haknan and embarking on a thrilling adventure.
As a science fiction work, the story covers various elements of science fiction, such as spaceships, alien life "sandworms", etc., and it also embodies grand themes such as politics, betrayal, and religion.
The story features everything from spaceships and extraterrestrial life forms called sandworms to themes revolving around betrayal, politics and religion.
This isn't the first time Dune has been adapted into a movie.
Duneis the second big-screen attempt to adapt Frank Herbert's 1965 epic, following David Lynch's much derided 1984 version. Villeneuve'sDune, which adapts only the first half of the book, stars Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya and Javier Bardem.
Dune is the second time Frank Herbert's 1965 epic book has been adapted into a film, and the 1984 dune directed by David Lynch was ridiculed earlier. Villeneuve's Dune is an adaptation of only the first half of the original book, starring Timothy Chalmed, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Zandaya and Javier Barton.
Legendary Pictures has confirmed on Twitter that it will shoot a sequel to Dune.
"Sand Dune" that "can't be adapted"
Was it successful this time?
"Dune" is known as "the best science fiction novel of the 20th century", and the major "must-see lists of a lifetime" have it, which contains a huge world view setting, while there are a large number of psychological descriptions and character dialogues, visual effects technology and script adaptation are extremely demanding, so there is also a reputation of "unfilmable".
Dunehas often been considered "unfilmable." As Marina Hassapopoulou, a professor of Cinema Studies at New York University, puts it, "the source material is too sublime to be adapted (and limited to) an audiovisual medium like cinema, and that makes it challenging to adapt from book to film."
Dunes is often considered "untitlable to be adapted into a film," and as Marina Hassaplu, a film studies professor at NYU, puts it, "the source material is too lofty to be adapted into (and confined to) audiovisual media like film, which makes adapting from book to film challenging." ”
But this classic still attracts generations of filmmakers to bring it to the big screen, in part because of its complexity and challenge.
Villeneuve told the Los Angeles Times "it took a long time to find the right equilibrium" between maintaining the main storyline and capturing some of the text's complexities, while also keeping some sense of "mystery."
Villeneuve told the Los Angeles Times that "it took a long time to find the right balance" and to maintain some "mystery" while maintaining the main storyline and capturing some of the complexity of the text.
Although the theme of "Dune" is very thick, it has many classic theatrical elements.
Despite some of its denser themes, the Dune story has many universally recognizable elements. The feud between House Atreides and House Harkonnen is a trope readers of classic literature -- such asRomeo and JulietandWuthering Heights-- are already familiar with.
Although full of heavy themes, the story of "Dune" also has many familiar elements. For example, the feud between the Ertridi family and the Hakenam family is a bridge that is very familiar to readers of classical literature such as Romeo and Juliet and Wuthering Heights.
"Aspects of the story are really universal, but then you've got sandworms, you've got spaceships -- you've got all these fun, strange sci-fi things to play around with," said Patrick Willems, YouTube video essayist.
Williams, a YouTube video essay writer, said: "The various aspects of this story are really universal, but there are interesting and strange science fiction elements such as sandworms and spaceships to play with. ”
From the box office point of view, this adaptation should be the most successful version at present.
Villeneuve mentioned in a previous interview that he was deeply influenced by Herbert's original novel, and this shooting is also a tribute to the original author.
Villeneuve, known for Blade Runner 2049andArrival, has said in earlier interviews that he was obsessed with Herbert's novel when he was a teenager, and made the film as his love letter.
Dune directed by Dennis Villeneuve
In order to recreate the characteristics of the different planets in the original book, Villeneuve led the team to shoot and shoot in many places around the world: the beautiful ice field in Norway, the strange rock formations in Jordan, the endless desert in Abu Dhabi... Cleverly composed of a mysterious and beautiful science fiction picture.
Critics believe Villeneuve has the ability to attract new fans for this classic.
"As he has done with the Blade Runnerlegacy viaBlade Runner 2049(2017), Villeneuve is capable of bringing in new fans and sparking renewed interest in the source materials," Hassapopoulou said. "His filmArrival demonstrates that he is capable of handling complex storytelling in a way that still makes it accessible to mainstream audiences."
"As he did with Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Villeneuve was able to attract new fans and rekindle interest in the original," Hassapopoulou said. "His film Advent shows his ability to handle complex stories in a way that mainstream audiences can understand."
In addition, this year's audience prefers to use their brains and is willing to accept more avant-garde aesthetic experiments, which also lays the foundation for the success of this version of "Dune".
Hassapopoulou said Hollywood's output since the 1990s has been "increasingly demanding more intellectually active and critically engaged viewers," which means the new Dune may appeal to newer generations who "are not put off by aesthetic experimentation and convoluted narratives."
Since the 1990s, Hassapopoulou said, Hollywood productions have "increasingly required audiences to use their brains and watch films critically," meaning a new generation of audiences may love the new Dune because they "don't resist aesthetic experimentation and intricate narratives."
Editor: Shang Zhen, Zuo Zhuo, Chen Dani
Source: CNN English Dianjin ABC News Network
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