Last week, we learned that Marvel was delaying two of its biggest movies: Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, two huge crossover events set to feature a who's who of Marvel talent past, present and future. Doomsday, which will star Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom, has been pushed back to December 18, 2026. Meanwhile, Secret Wars will not come out a year later on December 17, 2027.
The movies were only delayed by a matter of months, so this isn't too big a deal. However, this means Doomsday will be going up against Dune: Part Three, another major tentpole franchise movie. That movie, based on the book Dune Messiah, will be the third and final film in director Denis Villeneuve's Dune trilogy, although I wouldn't be shocked if Warner Bros. Discovery decides to continue making more Dune movies without him, given how successful the series has been so far.
At the moment, Dune: Part Three is due out in theaters on December 16, 2026, just a couple days before Doomsday. That means they'll be battling for the weekend box office. It's rare that we have two major franchise films coming out on the same weekend. It could be exciting proving ground. Which movie are people more interested in seeing: the climax of a widely praised sci-fi story based on a classic series of books, or the latest entry in a long-running series of superhero movies?
Either that, or this becomes a massive double event in the style of Barbenheimer, with people riding sandworms and bringing magic hammers into the theater. I'm sure neither Disney nor WBD would say no to that kind of press.
OR Warner Bros. Discovery gets cold feet and decides to move around the release date for Dune: Part Three. Personally, I hope they don't. I think a Dune-vs-Marvel head-to-head has a lot of potential for drama. If you could only choose one film to see, which would it be?
UPDATE: It has pointed out that the perfect name for his Dune-Doomsday double weekend is "Dunesday." I am genuinely ashamed I didn't think of that first, and if it's not the official portmanteau when the time comes, I will consider it a grave miscarriage of justice.
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h/t The Independent