Before Dunesday and Barbenheimer: The Movie Showdowns That Rewrote the Box Office Playbook
Dunesday is set as Dune: Part Three collides with Avengers: Doomsday, primed to rekindle Barbenheimer-level hype. And this showdown is only the latest in a long line of bruising release-date duels—here’s how the biggest battles went down.
Dunesday is upon us: Dune: Part Three and Avengers: Doomsday are sharing a date, which obviously brings back Barbenheimer memories. Two giant movies colliding can be a box-office headache, or a culture jolt that helps both. And it’s not new. Studios have been parking blockbusters on top of each other for decades, with some surprisingly clear lessons about timing, tone, and what audiences actually want. Here are ten past collisions that set the stage for today’s big weekend face-offs.
The showdowns that mattered (with box office and where to stream now)
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Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest vs Superman Returns (2006)
Release window: Superman Returns – June 28, 2006; Dead Man's Chest – July 7, 2006
The gist: Pirates 2 went maximalist crowd-pleaser: big laughs, big spectacle, zero subtlety. Superman Returns went reverent and reflective, leaning into legacy and melancholy more than action. Brandon Routh brought sincerity; some viewers wanted more fireworks.
Why it mattered: Superman opened strong, then fell hard when Pirates hit. Studios took the hint: audiences reward adrenaline over museum-piece nostalgia.
Worldwide box office (per The Numbers): Pirates 2 – $1.06B; Superman Returns – $391.08M
US streaming now: Pirates 2 – Disney+; Superman Returns – HBO Max
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Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol vs Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
Release window: Same day – December 16, 2011
The gist: RDJ doubled down on brilliant, scrappy Holmes. Tom Cruise rebooted M:I’s image with globe-trotting mayhem and the Burj Khalifa stunt that turned the franchise into an event machine.
Why it mattered: Post-Iron Man star wattage didn’t top Cruise’s precision-engineered spectacle overseas. Ghost Protocol reset M:I as a premier worldwide tentpole.
Worldwide box office: Ghost Protocol – $694.7M; Game of Shadows – $535.6M
US streaming now: Ghost Protocol – Paramount+; Game of Shadows – Amazon (rent/buy)
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The Matrix Reloaded vs Bruce Almighty (2003)
Release window: Reloaded – May 15, 2003; Bruce Almighty – May 23, 2003
The gist: Reloaded pushed philosophy and bullet-time worldbuilding; Bruce Almighty delivered comfort-food high-concept comedy with Jim Carrey and Morgan Freeman handing out godly hijinks.
Why it mattered: The Matrix was the 800-pound thought experiment, yet Bruce still put up a real fight. Proof a four-quadrant comedy can hang with sci-fi monoliths.
Worldwide box office: Reloaded – $738.5M; Bruce Almighty – $484.4M
US streaming now: Reloaded – Amazon (rent/buy); Bruce Almighty – Starz
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Titanic vs Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Release window: Same day – December 19, 1997
The gist: James Cameron’s doomed romance-meets-disaster epic vs Pierce Brosnan’s sleek Bond entry. On paper: action vs a tearjerker. In practice: a global tidal wave.
Why it mattered: The assumption was that Bond would cruise. Titanic instead became a phenomenon and rewrote the ceiling for romantic epics.
Worldwide box office: Titanic – $2.2B; Tomorrow Never Dies – $339.5M
US streaming now: Titanic – Netflix; Tomorrow Never Dies – MGM+, Fubo
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Skyfall vs Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
Release window: Wreck-It Ralph – November 2, 2012; Skyfall – November 9, 2012
The gist: Disney’s original arcade-heart nostalgia play faced Daniel Craig’s 23rd Bond outing, a sleek back-to-basics-with-style pivot.
Why it mattered: Both were loved; Bond still towered. But Ralph’s win was proving a fresh, wholesome concept can survive next to a juggernaut.
Worldwide box office: Skyfall – $1.1B; Wreck-It Ralph – $496.5M
US streaming now: Skyfall – Amazon (rent/buy); Wreck-It Ralph – Disney+
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Les Miserables vs Django Unchained (2012)
Release window: Same day – December 25, 2012
The gist: Operatic 19th-century musical about grace, guilt, and revolution vs Tarantino’s pulpy revenge Western about a freed man cutting through the antebellum South.
Why it mattered: Django edged it, but both proved historical settings draw crowds when the entertainment value is undeniable, whether it’s belting ballads or cracking whips.
Worldwide box office: Django Unchained – $449.8M; Les Miserables – $435.2M
US streaming now: Django Unchained – Paramount+; Les Miserables – Amazon (rent/buy)
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Jumanji vs Heat (1995)
Release window: Same day – December 15, 1995
The gist: Robin Williams leads a family fantasy-adventure about a cursed board game unleashing chaos. Michael Mann counters with a precision-tooled crime saga pitting De Niro against Pacino.
Why it mattered: Star power couldn’t beat seasonal programming. Family-friendly holiday fare outlasted a heavier adult drama.
Worldwide box office: Jumanji – $262.7M; Heat – $187.4M
US streaming now: Jumanji – Fubo, Philo; Heat – Fubo, Paramount+
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Home Alone vs Rocky V (1990)
Release window: Same day – November 16, 1990
The gist: One is the definitive holiday mischief movie; the other is Rocky coming home broke and battling demons outside the ring.
Why it mattered: Fifth-film brand power lost to a perfectly tuned family crowd-pleaser. Also, yes, the matchup happened in 1990 despite some confused labeling you might have seen elsewhere.
Worldwide box office: Home Alone – $476.6M; Rocky V – $119.9M
US streaming now: Home Alone – Disney+, Fubo; Rocky V – Peacock, Fubo
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The Dark Knight vs Mamma Mia! (2008)
Release window: Same day – July 18, 2008
The gist: Nolan’s grim, genre-redefining superhero epic ran straight into a sun-soaked ABBA musical led by Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried.
Why it mattered: The Batman behemoth didn’t sink the singalong. Two wildly different vibes maximized multiplex options without cannibalizing each other.
Worldwide box office: The Dark Knight – $1.010B; Mamma Mia! – $581.3M
US streaming now: The Dark Knight – HBO Max, Disney+; Mamma Mia! – Prime Video
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Venom vs A Star Is Born (2018)
Release window: Same day – October 5, 2018
The gist: A snarky symbiote antihero origin up against a big-hearted musical melodrama anchored by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.
Why it mattered: Venom nearly doubled the gross, while A Star Is Born owned the prestige lane and awards chatter. Hollywood got to have it both ways in one weekend.
Worldwide box office: Venom – $856M; A Star Is Born – $436.3M
US streaming now: Venom – Disney+; A Star Is Born – Hulu
Takeaways? Timing is a weapon, genre contrast often helps both movies, and global appeal can flip a domestic narrative on its head. Also, streaming availability changes, but the listings above reflect where these titles are now per the original rundown.
Which of these clashes did you live through? And how hyped are you for Dunesday?