Dune star Timothée Chalamet breaks a surprise box office record that’s stood for nearly 50 years

Timothée Chalamet has become the first actor in almost 50 years to star in the top two domestic-grossing films released within eight months of each other. 

As reported by W Magazine, Chalamet has smashed the record due to starring in both Wonka and Dune 2, which are coincidently the highest-grossing movies over the past few months. 

First was Wonka directed by Paddington’s Paul King, which starred Chalamet as the young chocolatier Willy Wonka looking to make his mark in the world of candy confectionery. The live-action adventure, inspired by Roald Dahl’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, grossed over $630 million worldwide and over $200 million domestically in the US after its debut in December 2023.

This year we have seen the actor’s cinematic domination continue with Denis Villeneuve’s epic Dune: Part Two, which sees Chalamet reprise his role as the Bene Gesserit Paul Atreides. Released earlier this March, the film has already grossed over $400 million worldwide. This means that, so far, Chalamet’s last two movies have grossed over $1 billion. 

The record was originally set by John Travolta way back in 1978. Holding the record for 44 years, Travolta starred in two of the highest-grossing films released over the span of eight months setting the record at just over half a billion USD. His dancing flick Saturday Night Fever stirred up $237.1 million at the box office, whilst Travolta’s iconic movie musical Grease raised a staggering $396.3 million. 

It looks like Chalamet’s box office-smashing days are far from over, as the star is now set to play Bob Dylan in the upcoming musical biopic titled The Complete Unknown, also starring Elle Fanning. Not only this, but Villeneuve reportedly has another Dune movie up his sleeve, Dune Messiah, which Chalamet will undoubtedly star in. 

Dune: Part 2 is out in cinemas right now. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies heading your way this year, or see our Dune 2 deep dives:

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