The Venice Film Festival is known as one of the most prestigious film events of the year. The red carpet on the Lido di Venezia has seen some of the greatest directors and movie stars in history. Films that world premiere at the festival are often an indication of their likeliness to succeed or fail once they’re released in theaters. And so, the seven-minute standing ovation that Dune received this past Friday is a sign that it just might blow up in the box office.

Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi epic had the Sala Grande in Venice shaking with excitement as the film received a seven-minute standing ovation. Villeneuve and his cast were present, among them Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Dave Bautista, and Stellan Skarsgard.  Deadline reporters called the movie a “spectacular and defining version of this sci-fi cult classic”.

Dune is an epic sci-fi classic that had reached cult levels of fandom already long before its 2021 cinematic version. An extensive history and lore, worthy of comparing to J.R.R. Tolkien Lord of the Rings lore in its immense detail and expansive universe, and its very human characters in bizarre alien worlds has always intrigued readers and fans of the Dune saga. Villeneuve’s adaptation will split the story in half as it is an impossible task to summarize it all in just one movie. We follow Paul of house Atreides through his adventures and misfortunes in Part I of these modern Dune movies. Warner Bros will release this giant of a film on October 22nd domestically and on September 15th internationally.