The state of movie theaters was at a low ever since the pandemic, but a lot consider the crossover success of 2023’s Barbenheimer (Barbie and Oppenheimer) to mark a win for the theatrical movie experience, and several films have been trying to recapture that magic with events like Saw Patrol (Saw X and Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie) and Glicked (Gladiator II and Wicked).Now with Avengers: Doomsday delayed to later in 2026, fans have pointed out that it now has the same release date as Denis Villneuve’s Dune: Messiah, and now they’re naming December 18, 2026… DUNESDAY.
Goodbye Barbenheimer
Hello DUNESDAY https://t.co/4F89AbLlEt
— Apocalyptic Horseman (@ApocHorseman) May 22, 2025
Admittedly, a lot of people think that it’s not going to capture the same magic as Barbenheimer—simply because they’re both big-budget sci-fi films that are technically in the same vein of spectacle. The huge appeal of Barbenheimer was the stark contrast between the two products and the auteur status of both directors Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan.
Sure, Glicked may have almost ticked the same boxes with the genre differences, but the yin-and-yang element of Barbenheimer was a kind of chemistry that was lightning in a bottle. Plus, a lot of people ended up participating ‘for the meme.’
No joke, I truly believe that we could get another Barbenheimer movement with Avengers: DunesDay pic.twitter.com/tBPqRnLOfw
— Ayman ☭ (@GuyWhoConquers) May 22, 2025
Who knows, once all those trailers drop and the hype starts to build, maybe Dunesday could be the next big cinematic event. We don’t know what the movie landscape is going to look like in the next year though, but my fingers are crossed it’s going to be a fun day at the cinema for movie lovers.
Dunesday takes place on Dec. 18, 2026.
