The performance of both Dune and The French Dispatch this weekend proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Timothée Chalamet is now box office gold. This weekend's stunning ticket sales numbers have been primarily driven by Denis Villeneuve's Dune, with the sprawling sci-fi epic raking in over $40 million on its domestic debut. Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch also opened across 14 markets globally to a respectable $1.3 million. While paling in comparison to blockbuster features, its box office performance still delivers a rousing confirmation that older-skewing, art-house style audiences are now willing to return to theatres.
These two releases conspired this weekend to ensure theater ticket sales reached a new zenith in the current post-Covid-19 landscape, with the $94 million taken dwarfing any given four-week period since movie theaters reopened. What Dune and The French Dispatch have in common, of course, is the presence of New York City native Timothée Chalamet, who plays the roles of futuristic liberator Paul Atreides and student revolutionary Zeffirelli, respectively. After his breakout role in Luca Guadagnino's oft-referenced Call Me by Your Name, Chalamet has since begun an inexorable ascension to Hollywood A-list status with a string of memorable performances.
Yet, it is this late October weekend's double feature release that finally cements Timothée Chalamet as undeniable box office gold. Denis Villeneuve's bold decision not to consider other actors for Dune's leading role has been emphatically vindicated, with the Chalamet-driven Dune marking Warner Bros.' best opening of 2021 so far. The diversity of Chalamet's performances between the science fiction landscape of Dune and the indie-anthology style of The French Dispatch also mark him as a rounded actor that has categorically moved from a precocious young talent to a guaranteed box office draw no matter the project he is signed onto.
Villeneuve raised many eyebrows when he announced he would be "building the cast around" Chalamet without even considering other actors for the role of Dune's dystopian liberator Paul Atreides. Concerns were raised at the time from some quarters, who cited Chalamet's lack of experience as a leading man as filming for Dune began in 2019. Chalamet's resume up to this point was primarily made up of supporting roles in artistic projects, with his only starring role arriving in Netflix's The King as Henry V of England. However, these fears have been quashed most emphatically, with Chalamet's performance as Atreides one of the standout aspects of a stunning Dune production.
Dune's simultaneous release alongside The French Dispatch is further evidence of Chalamet's breadth of talent, with the two films almost polar stylistic opposites of each other. What the relative successes of both films highlight, however, is Chalamet's ability to draw disparate sets of audiences to theatres in the name of seeing his performance. What is abundantly clear is that Chalamet oozes charisma, with movie stalwart Wes Anderson echoing Villeneuve's sentiments by stating he "never had the inconvenience of ever thinking of anybody else" for the role of Zeffirelli. The high regard in which he is now held even in Hollywood's most critical circles coupled with masterful genre flexibility within the film industry means Timothée Chalamet has ascended to the status of box office gold, with Dune a shining testament to his success and marketability.