Dunesday is still on: Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three both open December 18

Remember Barbenheimer? Hollywood is about to try it again, except this time both movies have spaceships, and both studios would very much prefer the other one had moved.

Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three are both set to open worldwide on Friday, December 18. Robert Downey Jr. and Timothée Chalamet jokingly dubbed it "Dunesday," and the name stuck.

What's in each corner

Avengers: Doomsday brings back Joe and Anthony Russo, the directors behind Infinity War and Endgame. The big hook is Robert Downey Jr. returning to Marvel, not as Tony Stark, but as Doctor Victor von Doom. That casting was announced at San Diego Comic-Con in 2024. Chris Evans is back too. The film was originally dated for May 2026 before Disney pushed it to December.

Dune: Part Three is Denis Villeneuve's final chapter, adapted from Frank Herbert's Dune Messiah. It jumps ahead 17 years from Part Two. Chalamet and Zendaya return as Paul and Chani, and Robert Pattinson joins as the villain Scytale.

The IMAX problem

Here's the detail that matters if you're picky about where you watch. IMAX said in an investor presentation back in February that Dune: Part Three holds exclusive US IMAX rights for that opening weekend. So in the States, Doomsday opens on regular and other premium screens, not IMAX. Overseas, Marvel gets IMAX on day one.

Dune is also sneaking out early for its hardcore fans. People who signed up as "Dune Insiders" on IMAX's website get early screenings: 70mm IMAX on December 14, other IMAX theaters on December 15, and other premium formats on December 17. When those tickets went on sale in August, Gizmodo reported sites crashing and shows selling out.

Did anyone think about moving?

There were rumors Marvel might slide to dodge the fight, and theater owners publicly worried earlier this year about two giant releases landing on top of each other. But as of TechRadar's August update, Doomsday was holding December 18. Warner Bros. hasn't budged either, aside from those early fan screenings.

What this means for you

For a dad with a job and limited babysitter nights, this is a scheduling puzzle, not a crisis. A few practical moves:

• If IMAX is a must, Dune is the one to book first. In the US, that's where the big screens are going that weekend.
• If the kids are coming, Doomsday is the obvious family pick. Dune is a long, heavy, grown-up movie.
• Nobody says you have to see both opening weekend. The crowds thin out by the following week, and the Christmas break gives you room.

Either way, catch up first. If you haven't revisited the first two Dune films, or you skipped half of Marvel's last few years, December is coming fast.