Doomsday Finally Has An Out To Its Dune 3 Showdown

Marvel Studios has put Avengers: Doomsday on a collision course with Dune: Part Three. Both highly anticipated tentpole sequels are slated to debut in theaters exclusively on December 11, 2026. For a while, it seemed inevitable that one would move. But as both have now started their marketing campaigns, there have been no signs of wavering. The showdown, called “Dunesday,” is on.

It’s a bold and surprising decision for all parties involved. These are two of the biggest movies of the year, with overlapping target audiences. Whereas Barbie and Oppenheimer turned Barbenheimer into a phenomenon by targeting very different demographics, Avengers and Dune are aiming for broad appeal with PG-13 sci-fi stories filled with action and major stars.

Both movies will certainly do well even if they open at the same time, but there’s no doubt that they are both losing out to some degree by having this double feature. One reason why neither has moved is that there are limited available weekends that are easily for the taking without major competition that wouldn’t involve drastically moving up or pushing back the releases.

Avengers: Doomsday Can Now Move Up To A Vacant December Weekend

The December 2026 movie slate is loaded beyond Avengers: Doomsday and Dune 3, with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf, a new Jumanji, and a third Angry Birds among the titles also on the schedule. For a long time, it’s been Jumanji 3 on December 11, Doomsday and Dune 3 on December 18, Angry Birds 3 on December 23, and Werwulf on December 25.

But a change has now occurred, with Sony delaying Jumanji 3‘s release to Dec. 25, hoping to come in after the dust settles on Doomsday and Dune 3 rather than try and open right before both and get crushed in its second weekend. Sony’s decision leaves the Dec. 11 weekend completely empty.

Either Doomsday or Dune 3 could now move up a week. While the MCU movie is likely to be the bigger box office hit, it is the one that probably should move up. This could be the only week when only one of the two sci-fi sequels is out in theaters, leaving audiences with an easy decision about what to see that weekend.

Should it make the move, Marvel Studios will be in the familiar position of having no major new challengers opening against its biggest titles. Doomsday would be the marquee title and its arrival at this time could juice the opening weekend box office numbers to potentially record-breaking numbers.

Avengers: Doomsday Moving Up Can Give It An IMAX Release

Marvel could bolster Doomsday‘s performance during its first week with a Dec. 11 release date, as it would allow the movie to actually come out in IMAX. As previously reported, Dune 3‘s IMAX exclusivity will keep the Avengers out of the Premium Large Format screens domestically during its opening weekend and beyond.

But no movie has IMAX exclusivity as of Dec. 11. Greta Gerwig’s Chronicles of Narnia for Netflix does have a two-week exclusive window, but that will end by then since the movie is starting its run two weeks prior on November 26. Doomsday would be able to start playing in IMAX theaters as soon as December 10, which is perfect for opening night showings.

While there have been reports that Marvel is not concerned about the lack of an IMAX release, Jumanji 3‘s move gives them a perfect scenario to move up Doomsday. It can get out of the Dune 3 showdown, have a full week to be the undisputed biggest movie in theaters, and have a limited window in IMAX (which could make those showings even more in-demand).

Sure, the movie would likely endure an even bigger second-weekend drop once Dune 3 is out, but Marvel movies are always quite frontloaded anyway. They’d be better off taking this gift from Sony, getting the IMAX boost, and receiving a full week free of brand-new competition. There’s no good reason to keep Avengers: Doomsday on Dec. 18 now.