‘Dune: Part Three’ Widens IMAX Pre-Sales as Pressure Mounts From ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Ticket Frenzy

December has been circled on movie calendars for months now, ever since two of the industry’s biggest franchises decided to open on the exact same day. Warner Bros.’ ‘Dune: Part Three’ and Disney’s ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ have been locked in a standoff dubbed “Dunesday” by fans and trade outlets alike, with neither studio willing to budge from December 18.

That standoff took an early turn back in April, when Warner Bros. shocked the industry by putting select 70mm IMAX tickets for ‘Dune: Part Three’ on sale a full eight months ahead of release. The move secured the Denis Villeneuve trilogy-capper an exclusive domestic IMAX window for its first three weeks in theaters, effectively locking Marvel’s ‘Doomsday’ out of premium large-format screens in the United States entirely.

Now that early advantage is facing real pressure. ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ reportedly pulled in $16.5 million in day-one advance ticket sales from just 1,000 premium theaters, roughly double what ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ managed on its own opening day, with sellouts stacking up fast across major chains as fans scramble for the earliest available showtimes.

That surge appears to be forcing Warner Bros.’ hand. Ahead of a wider presale window, tickets for all IMAX screenings of ‘Dune: Part Three’ are set to go on sale Tuesday at 9 a.m. PST, a significant expansion from the handful of theaters that first offered advance tickets back in April.

Industry observers have described the current standoff as less about two movies opening the same day and more about two movies fighting over the exact same screens. As sellouts continue to pile up for ‘Doomsday,’ theater chains have reportedly begun holding back certain showtimes and premium formats specifically to preserve inventory for ‘Dune: Part Three’ once its own wider sales window opens.

Part of Warner Bros.’ advantage traces back to production decisions made years ago. ‘Dune: Part Three’ was partially filmed using IMAX cameras, a first for the franchise, giving Villeneuve’s film a natural claim to the format that ‘Doomsday’ simply doesn’t share in the same way. That technical distinction has translated directly into real estate on movie screens, with ‘Doomsday’ currently expected to play in IMAX only in select international markets rather than domestically.

For Disney and Marvel Studios, losing the biggest screens in the country is no small setback, especially for a film positioned as one of the most consequential Avengers releases since 2019’s ‘Endgame.’ Still, industry trackers have noted that ‘Doomsday’ remains the larger box office draw by most measures, meaning the IMAX fight may end up shaping premium-format revenue more than it determines the overall winner of opening weekend.

Whether the widened IMAX presale eases the pressure or simply confirms just how fierce the competition for screens has become remains to be seen. With four months still to go before either film actually opens, both studios appear locked into their positions, using presale numbers and screen allocation as early proxy battles for the real fight in December.

For fans, the scramble for tickets is only likely to intensify as the release date approaches, especially with premium formats already showing signs of running short on supply.

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