Remember the 'Barbenheimer' hashtags that turned into a massive cultural phenomenon as Greta Gerwig's Barbie and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer faced off at the box office in 2023 and at the awards season last year? While things are yet to reach that level of frenzy, the fact that Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three are slated to release on the same day, December 18, 2026, in theatres, has caused a similar cultural trend. Following the revelation by journalists Jeff Sneider and Matt Belloni that Warner Bros is not moving Dune: Part Three's release date, the internet has been abuzz about the imminent box office battle between the two films.
As the films are expected to cater to different sensibilities, with one being a superhero adventure and the other a science-fiction film, netizens are describing their box office battle as 'Dunesday'. This has especially been the case after actor Simu Liu, who reprises his titular role from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in Avengers: Doomsday, tweeted "Prepare for DUNESDAY".
As reported earlier, the Russo Brothers' film Avengers: Doomsday is set to bring back Robert Downey Jr as Doctor Doom and Chris Evans as Steve Rogers. The teaser for the film was leaked online before Marvel Entertainment made it official the other day. It shows Rogers holding a baby, hinting at his life as a family man after passing on the baton of being Captain America to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). According to leaked screenshots from another Avengers: Doomsday teaser, Hayley Atwell is also set to reprise her role as Peggy Carter in the film, hinting at a different timeline for our beloved captain and his former love interest. Meanwhile, netizens speculate about the return of Chris Hemsworth as Thor as well.
On the other hand, Denis Villeneuve's third part in the epic Dune saga, an adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel Dune: Messiah, is in post-production.