‘Dune: Part Three’ sets off early ticket frenzy as fans crash sales sites

Culture & Trends‘Dune: Part Three’ sets off early ticket frenzy as fans crash sales sitesAMC CEO Adam Aron addressed fan frustration in a post on X on Tuesday, writing “we thought we were ready, but we weren’t.” Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00A still from "Dune: Part 3."Warner Bros. PicturesShareAdd to GoogleAug. 18, 2026, 4:49 PM EDTBy Minyvonne BurkeFans eager to see “Dune: Part Three” on the biggest screens in December first had to survive the online ticket queue.Many on social media reported long waits and ticketing site crashes on Tuesday as they scrambled to snag seats for early IMAX 70mm screenings in December.“Am I tripping or did every website for Dune 3 IMAX 70MM crash?” one X user wrote. “Help! Has anybody beaten this bug/error to secure Dune 3 tickets???” another person quipped, sharing a screenshot of the Fandango site with a message that read “Internal server error. Please try again.”“I HAVE THREE DEVICES OPEN TRYING TO GET DUNE TICKETS AND NONE OF THEM WORK” added another X user. The rollout is the latest sign of a growing frenzy around seeing major movies in specific premium formats, where securing the right seat and screen has become an event of its own. A similar rush unfolded in June, when advance sales for Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” overwhelmed AMC’s website, with some moviegoers reporting hourslong waits.“Dune: Part Three,” is the latest installment in Warner Bros. Pictures’ adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal 1965 novel set thousands of years in the future in a world devastated by ecological collapse. The movie, directed by Denis Villeneuve, picks up 17 years after the prior, with Paul Atreides (played by Timothée Chalamet) ruling the galaxy while in a political marriage to Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh). The sci-fi franchise, which also stars Zendaya and Jason Momoa, has become an audience must-see since the first installment’s box office success in 2021. Though the new film isn’t being released unt...