'Dune: Part Three' Tickets Trigger a Massive BFI IMAX Queue Frenzy

Few film franchises have turned going to the cinema into a pilgrimage the way Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune‘ saga has. The director has said he always envisioned the story as three parts, which makes the upcoming finale a planned conclusion rather than a stretched-out franchise extension. That sense of finality has been building for months.

The third chapter adapts Frank Herbert’s 1969 sequel novel, ‘Dune Messiah’, and is set nearly two decades after the events of the previous film. Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya lead a cast that also includes Jason Momoa, Florence Pugh, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem and Robert Pattinson. Production ran from July to November 2025 in locations including Budapest and Abu Dhabi.

On October 20, the demand for that finale finally collided with a ticketing system. When general pre-sales for ‘Dune: Part Three’ went live worldwide, thousands of fans piled into virtual queues for the BFI IMAX in London, with a queue number around 76,700 and more than 75,000 people ahead of one fan on the website. One estimate shared online suggested it would take 96 screenings to meet that demand, while the venue can only physically fit 5 per day because of the film’s runtime.

Just absolute insanity at the BFI IMAX right now with over 76k people still in the queue to buy tickets for #DunePartThree, even after 20 minutes of pre-sales kickoff. It would be necessary 96 screenings just to accommodate this demand, but due to new #Dune’s runtime the BFI only could physically have 5 screenings per day, what means most could sell out today already.
— Luiz Fernando (@Luiz_Fernando_J) October 20, 2026

The scarcity is by design. The film’s IMAX 70mm release in the UK is limited to just three cinemas: the BFI IMAX and The Ronson Theatre at the Science Museum in London, plus Vue Manchester Printworks. Early Insider screenings begin on December 14 in IMAX 70mm only, before expanding to digital IMAX the following day.

Warner Bros. also borrowed a page from the playbook of Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’, staging the sales in multiple rounds. After two earlier rounds covering previews and select IMAX and premium large format screenings, the general pre-sale opened on October 20 for all formats and time slots. IMAX later reported record pre-sales of $50 million for ‘The Odyssey’, a result studios clearly noticed.

This isn’t the first time ‘Dune: Part Three’ has overwhelmed a ticketing platform. The first batch of IMAX 70mm tickets went on sale in April across 19 global locations, and GamesRadar reported they sold out in under 3 hours. When BFI IMAX opened an earlier preview screening in September, more than 100,000 people reportedly joined the virtual queue.

The resale market has been just as wild. Listings for IMAX 70mm seats have appeared online for as much as $999.99, and one report described a man accused of buying 80 tickets as pre-sales caused chaos. It’s worth noting there was no evidence linking any of those buyers to scalping.

“Forgive me for all I’ve done.” Experience the epic conclusion. Dune: Part Three only in theaters and IMAX December 18. #DuneMovie #FilmedforIMAX https://t.co/x9Nftg9yXd
— DUNE (@dunemovie) July 8, 2026

The rush makes sense given how the film was made. Villeneuve has said much of the movie was shot with 70mm film and IMAX cameras, a first for him, while he kept the desert in digital to preserve the brutality he likes about the format. That choice makes the IMAX 70mm presentation the hero version of the film.

Only IMAX theaters with a 1.43:1 screen and either a 70mm film projector or a dual-laser projector can show it that way. Even so, the movie has reportedly secured a three-week IMAX exclusivity window globally, which should open up more showtimes closer to release.

Runtime listings are still moving, too. Most theaters list about 2 hours and 20 minutes, while one reported AMC listing now shows 2 hours and 30 minutes, though no studio statement has confirmed an adjustment.

The film opens in UK cinemas on December 18 and is set to face ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ on the same date, a clash fans have nicknamed ‘Dunesday’. If the lines to buy tickets are any indication, Villeneuve’s trilogy closer is going into that weekend as a true event film.