LOS ANGELES – Warner Bros. has a sandworm-sized dilemma on its hands: Keep the fall release date for its highly anticipated “Dune: Part Two” and risk not having its star-studded cast promote it – or bump it into next year and potentially miss out on a dominant run at lucrative premium movie screens.
As two Hollywood strikes rage on, movie writers and stars aren’t permitted to hype their projects, due to strike rules. The longer the work stoppages keep going, the more likely it is studios will delay releases as production shutdowns choke the movie release pipeline.
Already, a handful of titles – including Ethan Coen’s “Drive Away Dolls,” the sequel to “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and the Emma Stone-led “Poor Things” – have moved to later dates due to the labor disruption. “Dune: Part Two,” a science fiction epic based on Frank Herbert’s seminal novel, could end up the biggest title to move. Speculation has swirled about the sequel leaving its Nov. 3 slot since the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists went on strike last month.
After the stunning success of “Barbie,” and with doubts growing about December’s “Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom,” “Dune: Part Two” would be a important 2023 release for Warner Bros. Its predecessor excelled at the box office during the pandemic despite being released day and date on streaming service HBO Max (now just called Max). It racked up 10 Academy Award nominations, taking home six trophies.
With pandemic restrictions lifted on movie theaters, expectations are that “Dune: Part Two” would outpace the nearly $400 million the prior film tallied at the global box office in 2021 on a reported budget of $165 million.
“As one of the biggest and most anticipated movies of the all-important and prestigious holiday season, ‘Dune: Part Two’ is one of the crown jewels of Warner Bros.’ end of year lineup and has much riding on its cinematic shoulders,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
Warner Bros. didn’t immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
While the Writers Guild of America has returned to the bargaining table with producers, negotiations are moving slowly.
Meanwhile, the producers haven’t contacted the other striking guild, SAG-AFTRA, to resume talks. SAG-AFTRA has also promised not to grant interim agreements to any WGA-covered productions produced in the U.S., meaning these projects cannot start or continue filming or be promoted by active guild members if they are released.
There’s genuine fear that the labor fight will drag on, as well.
“I think it’s gonna go into next year,” said Steven Schiffman, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and a former executive at National Geographic. “I think it’s gonna get to a really painful process.”