News of the Week: 'Dune' Coming Back To IMAX For Limited Time

It’s Thanksgiving week, which means Hollywood is starting its holiday hiatus while families head to the movies to catch end-of-year fare from huge superhero tentpoles to award season hopefuls to family-friendly flicks. Still, that doesn’t mean the news has stopped. As always, Atom Insider is bringing you a few hand-picked stories we think you’ll like. Ready? Let’s dive in.

‘Dune’ Is Returning To IMAX For A Limited Time

Good news for those who missed Dune in IMAX theaters the first time around or who simply want to see Denis Villeneuve’s sweeping epic again: It will be returning to IMAX for a limited time starting December 3rd. It’s unclear why it’s returning to IMAX but it’s a smart move on Warner Bros.’ part. The movie was originally released as part of the studio’s day-and-date release strategy for all their 2021 movies, hitting HBO Max and theaters simultaneously. Despite that, Dune is closing in on $100 million domestic and is currently at $366.4 million worldwide, with almost $50 million of that total coming directly from IMAX. With it now leaving HBO Max in its second month of release, opening it back up in IMAX theaters for a period of time is sure to add to that box office total.

Check back for Dune IMAX tickets when they go on sale.

‘Encanto’ Projected To Beat ‘House of Gucci’ At Thanksgiving Box Office

In the battle of the box office between Disney and Lady Gaga, the House of Mouse is projected to come out on top this Thanksgiving weekend. In the five-day Thanksgiving weekend span the latest movie from Walt Disney Animation is projected to bring in about $40 million at the box office while Ridley Scott’s second release in two months is projected to bring in about $17-20 million in that same timeframe. In recent years, Disney has absolutely dominated Thanksgiving weekend with its family-friendly fare gobbling up the box office on the holiday weekend and even though Encanto‘s take will be far smaller than usual for a Thanksgiving Disney release – we are still in the middle of a pandemic, after all – it’s poised to continue Disney’s box office dominance on Thanksgiving weekend.

‘The 355’ Releases A New Image

Those craving an action-packed spy movie should turn their attention to early February when The 355 hits theaters. The slick spy thriller is led by Jessica Chastain, with an equally stellar rest of the cast including Lupita Nyong’o, Penélope Cruz, Diane Kruger, and Sebastian Stan. The movie is apparently a passion project for Chastain, who plays a wild card CIA agent who teams up with a group of international secret agents in an effort to retrieve a top-secret weapon when it falls into the wrong hands. The globe-trotting spy movie just released a new image courtesy of Empire Magazine. Check it out below:

China Has A New Highest-Grossing Movie Ever

Here’s a random but interesting bit of news: China has a new #1 on their list of highest-grossing movies ever for that market. Wolf Warrior 2 has held the title since 2017, when it grossed RMB 5,694.5M ($891m). But Chinese war epic The Battle at Lake Changjin is about to pass it. Currently, it’s at RMB 5.693B ($890M) after 56 days of release, but presales for the next few days close the gap, making it an inevitability that Battle of Lake Changjin will overtake the #1 spot by the end of the week. In total, it’s expected to garner about RMB 5.75B ($900M) by the end of its run on December 30. Directed by Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark and Dante Lam, it’s set during a period of the Korean War and tells the story of tells the story of the titular battle that unfolded when the People’s Volunteer Army entered North Korea. In a fun coincidence, it means Chinese star Wu Jing is about to beat out himself for the record – he stars in both The Battle at Lake Changjin and Wolf Warrior 2. He’ll next be seen in the sequel to Battle of Lake Changin, Water Gate Bridge, set to release in 2022, so it’s entirely possible that he could beat his own record a second time in a row next year.

Marvel Casts Delroy Lindo In ‘Blade’ Reboot

Marvel’s Blade reboot just added a stellar talent and major piece of the puzzle to its cast: Disney confirmed that it has cast veteran actor Delroy Lindo in an undisclosed role. He’s just the second person to be officially added to the cast since Mahershala Ali was announced as the new Eric Brooks, a.k.a. Blade, at San Diego Comic-Con 2019. Bassam Tariq was previously tapped as director with Stacy Osei-Kuffour working on the script.

In Lindo, Marvel instantly adds gravitas to its cast beyond the two-time Oscar winner Ali. He’s one of the most respected actors in the business with a career that stretches back to the mid-’70s and covers a range of projects across film and television. His last two movie projects were Spike Lee’s acclaimed Da 5 Bloods and Netflix’s recent release, the Black-led Western The Harder They Fall. Currently, he’s busy filming Anansi Boys, the adaptation of the Neil Gaiman novel, where Lindo is playing the title role. Regardless of who he’s playing in Blade, he’s sure to bring his typical brilliance. For those few unfamiliar with his work and the mix of intensity and charm he can bring to the screen, just watch this scene from the underrated 2000 classic Gone in 60 Seconds:

Blade is currently in pre-production. It does not yet have a release date.

Marvel Working On ‘Top Secret’ Project With Scarlett Johansson Set As Producer

Scarlett Johansson and Disney may have recently butted heads over her Black Widow contract, but her relationship with Marvel Studios appears to be tighter than ever. Johansson was recently awarded the American Cinematheque Award and among the members of the audience there to watch her receive the honor was Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. While there, he spoke a few words about Johansson’s talent and vision, but, interestingly, he dropped the tidbit that the studio and the actress are reteaming for a “top secret Marvel Studio project.” Even more interestingly, he went on to say it has nothing to do with Natasha Romanoff, her longtime Marvel character before showering her with praise, saying, “Scarlett has lent her talent and star power to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for over a decade. That she’s chosen to play a key part in it for so many years, I am extremely grateful for. Working with [her] has truly been one of the most memorable and rewarding collaborations of my career.”

The likeliest choice for this top-secret project is, of course, a follow-up to Black Widow, but following Florence Pugh’s breakout character of Yelena Belova, who, in the comics, takes up the Black Widow mantle after Natasha is killed. Or it could be another project entirely, including a series on Disney+. Time will tell, but for now, it’s fun to speculate on what they might be cooking up behind closed doors.