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Film fans have been left scratching their heads over a decision made about A Quiet Place: Day One.
On 27 June, the horror film prequel was released by Paramount Pictures and amassed an impressive $55m (£43m) in its opening weekend, setting a record for the franchise.
After a lacklustre few months at the box office, which was highlighted by Dune: Part 2 director Denis Villeneuve, things have turned around in a big way thanks to the release of A Quiet Place: Day One, which stars Lupita Nyong’o and Stranger Things breakoutJoseph Quinn, as well as Pixar sequel Inside Out 2.
While the latter has become the first film of 2024 to hit $1bn (£784m) – in a staggeringly quick amount of time – A Quiet Place: Day One’s opening weekend figures put it firmly on the path to become one of the year’s most lucrative hits.
However, its chances may have just been dented: Paramount will release the film digitally on 30 July – just over one month since its theatrical release.
The rush-release of films on digital platforms has increasingly become the norm for blockbuster releases, and might be one of the reasons for Marvel’s downturn in recent years.
But it also does not allow films to find an audience: earlier this year, Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt action comedy The Fall Guy ended its theatrical run below budget – but was experiencing an uptick in audiences the week before it was released digitally.
Two examples of films that started its theatrical run in a weak manner before finding huge success at the box office was Pixar film Elemental and romantic comedy Anyone but You, which stars Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney.
In June, Villeneuve said he was “disappointed” Dune: Part 2 was still, at that time, the year’s biggest film.
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The filmmaker, whose credits include Prisoners, Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, released the follow-up to 2021’s Dune back in February, and it became a blockbuster hit.
After sell-out showings in IMAX screens around the world, the lengthy epic amassed global takings of $711.8m (£558.8m), firmly positioning it as the most successful release of the year so far.
Dune: Part 2 has retained that title despite what was believed to be fierce competition in the form of The Fall Guy and Furiosa, George Miller’s prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road.
However, both those films faltered at the box office, with the former, which was estimated to have cost $150m (£117.7m), failing to break even before being made available to download at home. Meanwhile, many were left flummoxed by Furiosa’s poor opening weekend figures.
