This year's first real Hollywood blockbuster " Dune 2" was released in mainland China on March 8. As of 20:00 on March 13, the film's cumulative box office was 178 million yuan.
The production cost of "Dune 2" was US$190 million, which was higher than the US$165 million of the previous game. With an improved budget, the North American opening weekend box office performance was twice that of the first film. So far, the global box office of "Dune 2" has exceeded US$384 million, which is expected to surpass the previous film's total box office of US$430 million.
This sequel to the science fiction film directed by director Denis Villeneuve and starring popular Hollywood movie stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya Coleman, etc., is as popular among movie fans as the first one was when it was released. Make waves. When the film premiered in North America last month, Zendaya's eye-catching red carpet look already sparked a wave of heated discussions.
The 57-year-old Canadian director Denis Villeneuve is one of the most influential directors in Hollywood and also enjoys a high reputation among Chinese movie fans. In recent years, with the "Arrival", "Blade Runner 2049" and " Dune " series, it has erected a golden brand in the field of science fiction movies, and almost every one of its films has received high praise. Villeneuve's China tour, which had been postponed due to health reasons, is about to resume, and he will start a conversation with Chinese director Guo Fan.
In China, the film's momentum in public opinion and the director's personal influence have not yet been perfectly translated into box office figures. Four films directed by Villeneuve have been released in mainland China so far, with a total box office of 620 million yuan. Maoyan Professional Edition has raised its forecast for the total domestic box office of "Dune 2" to 285 million yuan, which is slightly higher than the total domestic box office of the first film. Five days after
was released, "Dune 2" surpassed " Weekly Remove Three Evils " in the single-day box office and ranked first. According to the current box office trend, there is a high probability that it will not be enough to change the decline of Hollywood blockbusters in the Chinese market, as some film critics have mentioned. Internet memes created by fans such as "Didi Beat Chong" did not allow the film to reach a wider audience. "Dune 2" accounted for the highest box office share in first-tier cities at 53.4%, with Shanghai contributing 21.82 million yuan in box office for "Dune 2", ranking first among all cities.
As far as the "Dune" series is concerned, cultural differences may be the main reason for its lack of appeal to Chinese audiences. On the other hand, Villeneuve's unique cinematic aesthetic won't work for all audiences. In an earlier interview, the director admitted that he is not obsessed with dialogue and believes that pure images and sounds are the charm of movies. As films that rely on audiovisual language to create atmosphere rather than plot advancement, the Dune series leaves some viewers drowsy and others unable to stop.
The background development of anti-heroes
The novel "Dune" of the same name written by science fiction writer Frank Herbert was published in 1965. It combines issues such as religion, ecology, politics, and human destiny, and enjoys a high reputation in Europe and the United States. Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke believed that, except for "The Lord of the Rings," no other work could compare to "Dune." Villeneuve mentioned in interviews more than once that he was deeply attracted to "Dune" when he first read it when he was 14 years old.
Drawing inspiration from Greek mythology and Shakespeare's drama, "Dune" influenced the world view of science fiction films such as "Star Wars" and "Avatar". However, the film and television process of "Dune" has been repeatedly frustrated, and there is a large time difference from the birth of the original work. Over the past half century, many science fiction IPs influenced by it have been developed successively, so that in the eyes of some viewers, the story of "Dune" The framework, character relationships, and plot development seem familiar and nothing new.
The story of "Dune" is set in the distant future, but various planets operate under a feudal monarchy. A brutal war between humans and artificial intelligence has banned related things, forcing humans to evolve the ability to manipulate people's hearts or predict the future. "Dune" is considered to be a space opera science fiction work similar to "Star Wars", that is, the focus of the story is not the fantasy of technology, but the depiction of human society, culture, politics and other aspects in a specific environment.
"Dune 2" follows the first plot. The planet Arax, which possesses the rare resource "spice", is in riots due to resource plunder all year round.After the Atreides family was annihilated by the Emperor and the Harkonnens, the surviving heir Paul was forced to get involved in an interstellar revolution. He gained the trust of the indigenous Fremen on the planet Arrakis and fell in love with the female warrior Qini. And join forces with them to resist imperial rule and achieve revenge. At the same time, Paul, who has the ability to predict the future, will also face the dilemma between love and fate.
At first glance, the stories of "Dune" and "Avatar" are quite similar. In fact, behind this story of the growth of a young hero and the desert prince's revenge lies the author's reflections on saviors and heroic narratives, which is also the unique feature of "Dune". In 1969, Herbert published Dune: The Redeemer, warning of the dangers of blindly following charismatic leaders. In the book, he borrowed the words of a character and said: "Don't let your people fall into the hands of heroes. There is no more terrible disaster than this."
Villeneuve teamed up with screenwriter Joe Spaihts to adapt the script At that time, it focused on depicting the emotional development and personalities of Paul and Chini, and made a large-scale adaptation of the character Chini, reflecting Paul's psychological changes through her perspective, forming a critical distance from it, and ensuring that the adaptation was faithful to the original work. soul. "Dune 2" uses a running time of two and a half hours to gradually reveal its core. Paul tries to escape the fate of being regarded as a savior, but still has to be involved in it. This is a tragic figure, and it is also a story of anti-heroism.
In the opinion of some viewers, compared to the first film, "Dune 2" has a better grasp of the rhythm. In addition to the protagonists of the story, Paul and Chini, Paul's mother Jessica, one of the villains, Fede Rosa, and sorority member Madame Margot, and other characters with few roles are also portrayed with charm. But much like its predecessor, the story ends abruptly just when it starts to get more interesting.
On the one hand, it will make the audience feel as if they have watched a two-and-a-half-hour trailer, and on the other hand, they will start to look forward to the next story. The stories of some new characters have not yet been fully developed. For example, Alia Atreides, played by "The Gambit" star Anya Taylor, Paul's sister, only has one scene in "Dune 2", which indicates that she will He is one of the important characters in the subsequent story. It is also curious to see what kind of disaster the war started by Paul and the Fremen will lead to, and how the emotional relationship between Paul, Qini, and Princess Ileran will unfold.
Can "Dune" revolutionize Hollywood?
Gradient switching of light and dark, juxtaposition and contrast of huge and small objects, "Dune 2" continues the aesthetic characteristics of Villeneuve's works, which fascinates audiences who love him. Villeneuve revealed that "Dune 2", like its predecessor, uses real-life shooting as much as possible to create a realistic and immersive screen experience.
Being in the theater is like visiting a vast and dangerous desert planet. The alluring spices have a psychedelic luster and seem to be within reach. The protagonist conquers the "sandworm", the king of the desert, and gallops across the sky. The flying sand and gravel are scattered everywhere as if they are right in front of you. The Harkonnen's arena is designed to have both a classical and modern industrial atmosphere, and is cold and bloodthirsty, just like the Harkonnen's nature.
"Dune" deserves to be praised as an "audio-visual feast". The exquisite architecture, costume textures, and magnificent landscapes together constitute a convincing alien world. Moreover, this world is not far from the one we live in, full of greed and fighting, religious fanaticism and power games.
A screen with a larger area and higher specifications can help the audience obtain a more perfect audio-visual experience during the viewing process of "Dune 2". The attendance rate and output of the special effects hall of "Dune 2" are much higher than that of the ordinary hall, and the ticket price is also more expensive.
Taking the Shanghai area as an example, the occupancy rate of most IMAX theaters during the prime time during the first weekend of the film's release is over 70%, and it even takes several days in advance to reserve a viewing location with a better view. According to Beacon Professional Edition, the average ticket price of "Dune 2" is 50.8 yuan, which is the highest among films currently in theaters. Public information shows that IMAX screen production value accounted for one-third of the box office of "Dune 2" in China during its first weekend.
Audiences who have watched "Dune 2", whether they like it or hate it, will not deny one thing: it has a completely different texture from the popular Hollywood blockbusters on the market. It does not use nearly light-pollution visual effects like some superhero movies, forcing the audience to focus on the dazzling pictures. It is also obviously not the kind of assembly-line script written according to a big data model to capture the excitement of the audience.
Photography, special effects, music, costumes, modeling, art, and the gathering of top creative talents in the film industry jointly create an extraterrestrial civilization with rich details, allowing the audience to be immersed in the scene and experience distant rituals, folk customs and languages. . This may be the meaning of the existence of series of movies like "Dune" in an era when artificial intelligence is affecting the creative industry.
There are six novels in the "Dune" series. The movies "Dune" and "Dune 2" only completed the adaptation of the first part of the original "Dune". Villeneuve revealed in a previous interview that he is working on adapting "Dune: Salvation", which will be the final part of the "Dune" trilogy.
Legendary Pictures CEO Josh Groder expressed his support for the filming of "Dune 3": "As long as Dennis feels that the script is done and can deliver a work that rivals the experience of the film we just completed, I don't see it. There is no reason to refuse to film the third part." In addition, the spin-off series "Dune: Prophecy" developed by Legendary Pictures is expected to be launched on HBO next year. The series will focus on the origin of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. story.
